The need of the hour is for God to visit His people with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is termed in Zechariah 12:10, “…The Spirit of grace and of supplications…”creating an awakening of human souls who will “…look upon me whom they have pierced…” (crucified) “and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” The language describes a spiritual awakening (revival as it’s termed by most) such as this age has never experienced, one of godly sorrow and true, lasting repentance from sin and whole-hearted conversion to God. The Holy Spirit is able to make the Word as successful now as in the days of the Apostles. He can bring in by hundreds and thousands, as easily as by ones and twos. It may be that we are not experiencing genuine conversion to God because we have not the Holy Spirit’s blessing upon us in might and power as in former times. If we had the Spirit sealing our ministry with power, talent and carnal genius would matter little if at all. Men might be poor and uneducated; their words might be broken and ungrammatical. They might not be polished or have the thunder of some of the great preachers of the past; but if the might of the Spirit attended them the humblest of God’s men would be more successful than the most learned of divines, or the most eloquent of preachers. It is extraordinary grace, not talent that is needed. It is spiritual power not intellectual ability that we need. Pragmatism may fill a stadium, but spiritual power fills the church; fleshly power may gather a multitude, spiritual power will save souls. We need spiritual power. There are many before whom we shrink to nothing as to talent, but who have no spiritual power at all; and when they speak they have not the Holy Ghost with them. But there are others, simple-hearted, worthy men, who speak their native dialect, and who stand up to preach and the Spirit of God clothes every word with power; hearts are broken; souls are turned to Christ. Oh Spirit of the living God, we need you! You are the life, the soul, and the source of your servant’s success. Without You we can do nothing, with You we can do all things. When are churches going to wake up and cry for men filled with the Holy Spirit to occupy their pulpits? Just before the New York City revival of 1859, a man stood up in a YMCA prayer meeting and cried, “We have been taught until we are hardened, it is now time to pray.” The hour for more assessments and analysis about how bad things are getting out there is over! Let us cry to God to raise up men who are both doctrinally sound and filled with the Holy Spirit! We need men of the word and men of prayer. The apostles said, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). It is easier to study than to pray. Dear readers demand that your pastors be decidedly spiritual men, men of sound doctrine and men of prayer before you set them apart to oversee your souls.
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