Could a Single Prayer Start a Spiritual Awakening?
There are two main movements in the Earth today—a Holy Spirit-inspired movement and an Antichrist movement. The Holy Spirit wants to shift us into a Third Great Awakening while Antichrist spirits want to shift us into a godless nation where Christians are jailed for preaching the gospel of salvation.
The contrast is stark—and visible. The Antichrist agenda is perverting sexuality, family, religion, education, government and other sectors of society. We’re seeing Christians jailed in America for standing on the Word of God, Islamic terror wreaking havoc on our soil and an onslaught of threats coming against our religious liberty.
This demonic movement has gained mass momentum in the last 50 years, but the devil always overplays his hand, and I am witnessing the church—at least a remnant within the church—waking up, praying fervently and taking action to turn a nation back to God. Some of those actions are turning into movements, which Merriam-Webster defines as “a series of organized activities working toward an objective.”
God’s Not Dead is one example of a movement in the entertainment industry. Who would have thought that a simple film about apologetics produced in 18 days would drive $9 million its opening weekend to become, at that time, the fourth-biggest film in the U.S. and, ultimately, bring in $60 million at the box office in its five-month run? Who would have thought the movie’s Facebook page would attract over 8 million followers and counting? Not even the filmmakers anticipated this success, but the movie became a movement, and part two is in theaters in April.
At the same time, Dutch Sheets, an internationally recognized author, teacher and conference speaker, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has ignited an Appeal to Heaven Movement that’s calling the nation back to prayer for a Third Great Awakening based on a flag George Washington flew over his navy ships. That flag, which is finding its place in churches and rallies today, depicts an evergreen tree with the words “An Appeal to Heaven” across the top. Washington used it to remind the colonists that their only hope against British rule and persecution was an appeal to heaven.
On the political front, Cindy Jacobs, co-founder of Generals International, launched Red Shoe Votes, a company of women fueled by love and committed to justice, willing to speak boldly for truth, life and compassion. The goal is to get spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative women, who are underrepresented at the polls, to register to vote for a candidate who stands for biblical values in the 2016 presidential election. This small movement could make a big impact on our nation.
Meanwhile, the 24/7 prayer movement is crossing denominations to focus on worship and intercession, the pro-life movement is working to see laws and hearts changed, the student missions movement is going strong through organizations like YWAM, and the church is on the edge of seeing another healing movement sweep the nation.
In fact, I believe the Third Great Awakening will be greater than any individual movement we’ve seen—from the Voice of Healing to the Word of Faith to the Jesus Movement and so on. I believe we’re going to see an outpouring more significant than all the past outpourings put together—and I believe it starts with these smaller movements until we reach a tipping point or, to put it biblically, when prayers of the saints fill the golden, heavenly bowls mentioned in Revelation 5:8, and they finally tip over.
Movements are about mobilizing people in unity around a common cause. If Christians will join—or launch—Holy Spirit-inspired movements that spur people to pray, evangelize and otherwise get engaged in our society, we’ll reach a tipping point in this nation. In fact, it will be like the shot heard around the world in the Revolutionary War. Our nation needs a spiritual revolution, and we’re getting closer to the tipping point with every prayer we pray.
Malcolm Gladwell, author of the Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and other best-selling books that caught the nation’s attention, explains it this way: The tipping point is a moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start a flu epidemic, he reasons, a small but targeted push can bring change. You can be part of the tipping point. Join a movement. Pray without ceasing. Be part of the solution. Together, we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit to usher in the greatest movement the world has ever seen.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma, director of the Awakening House of Prayer, a senior leader of the New Breed Revival Network and author of many books, including Jezebel’s Puppets: Exposing the Agenda of False Prophets. Visit her online at jenniferleclaire.org.
