By John Abiola
“O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.”
Habakkuk 3:2 (NKJV)
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts 3:19 (NKJV)
This message may be long, but it carries a burden worth staying with until the end.. You will be glad you did.
Throughout history, God’s dealings with humanity have followed a consistent redemptive pattern. When His people drift from obedience, abandon holiness, and compromise with sin, God does not abandon them. Instead, He confronts, calls, and revives.
In seasons of moral decay, spiritual dryness, and societal breakdown, God’s response has repeatedly been revival, an outpouring of His Spirit that restores covenant relationship and reawakens spiritual life.
Biblical and historical records reveal that revival is not accidental. In every generation, when sins such as idolatry, corruption, rebellion, injustice, and moral compromise provoke divine displeasure and invite judgment, God seeks a vessel, a man or woman willing to stand in the gap.
He places upon such a person a divine burden, draws them into travailing prayer and sustained intercession, and entrusts them with a heaven-born, burning message. That message confronts sin, calls for repentance, restores reverence for God’s Word, and opens the way for times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord.
Revival, therefore, is both God-initiated and humanly responded to. Though revival is sovereign in origin, it is commonly preceded by brokenness, humility, repentance, and prayer among God’s people. Scripture consistently reveals that God revives the contrite, the humble, and the obedient, not the self-sufficient or complacent.
This piece examines revivals in biblical history and throughout church history, focusing on the lives of prophets, apostles, intercessors, and revivalists whom God used as instruments of awakening.
Their messages were not novel, fashionable, or culturally convenient. They were rooted in repentance, holiness, obedience to the Holy Spirit, and uncompromising allegiance to Christ.
The fruit of their obedience, humility, holiness, sacrifice, and simple, not flamboyant or materialistic, lifestyles transformed individuals, renewed churches, and reformed societies.
Within this framework, particular attention is given to my divine call and prophetic burden for Africa, with specific focus on the nation of Nigeria.
This calling reflects the same biblical pattern seen throughout history, God raising a watchman to discern the times, intercede for the land, and proclaim His redemptive purposes amid national crisis.
This piece also revisits Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival of 1904–1905, examining both its immediate national impact and its enduring global influence.
The Welsh Revival stands as a compelling testimony that revival is birthed in prayer, sustained by obedience, and marked by radical repentance and societal transformation. It demonstrates how God can use one surrendered life to ignite a movement that reshapes a nation and influences the world.
Finally, this piece issues a challenge to our contemporary generation: to recover, emphasize, and expand upon the core messages proclaimed by God’s generals, prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, and evangelists, throughout Scripture and history.
If the Church in our day will return to these foundations of repentance, intercession, holiness, and obedience to the Holy Spirit, there is every biblical reason to believe that God will again answer the cry of a generation.
Revival is not merely a historical phenomenon; it is a present possibility and a divine necessity. The same God who moved in biblical times and throughout church history remains ready to revive His work in the midst of the years, for the glory of His name, the restoration of His Church, and the salvation of the nations.
From biblical times, God has consistently responded to the cry of generations in crisis by raising men and women through whom He brings revival, restoration, and transformation.
Whenever God’s people fell into sin, idolatry, injustice, spiritual complacency, or oppression, God intervened, not by abandoning them, but by reviving them.
Scripture reveals a divine pattern: national crisis, prophetic burden, intercession, repentance, and revival.
Notable biblical examples demonstrate God’s way of revival.
Moses (1391–1271 BC):
Israel was enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years, oppressed and crying out for deliverance. God raised Moses, a man of intercession, obedience, and divine encounters. His core messages were God’s deliverance, obedience to God’s law, and trust in God’s covenant promises. The impact was national deliverance, the establishment of God’s covenant and law, and the formation of a spiritually reordered nation.
Elijah (9th Century BC):
Israel was in deep apostasy under corrupt leadership, worshiping Baal. His core messages emphasized the sovereignty of God, repentance, and total allegiance to Him. Through national confrontation with idolatry and earnest intercession, rain returned and the hearts of the people were turned back to God.
Isaiah (8th Century BC):
Judah was complacent, morally corrupt, and threatened by Assyrian invasion. His core messages centered on God’s holiness, judgment, and redemption through faith. His ministry influenced reforms under King Hezekiah and renewed reverence for God’s holiness.
Jeremiah (7th–6th Century BC):
Judah persisted in sin, idolatry, and injustice despite repeated warnings. His core messages called for repentance and warned of coming judgment. Through sustained intercession, prophetic truth was preserved, and hope beyond judgment was proclaimed.
Ezekiel (6th Century BC):
Israel was in exile, spiritually broken and hopeless. His core messages focused on repentance, God’s glory, and national restoration. His visions revived hope and revealed God’s plan for spiritual and national renewal.
Jonah (8th Century BC):
Nineveh was steeped in wickedness. His core message was repentance, resulting in citywide repentance and divine mercy.
John the Baptist (6 BC–30 AD):
Israel was under Roman rule, spiritually expectant but morally compromised. His core message was repentance and preparation for the Messiah, resulting in mass repentance and preparation for Christ’s ministry.
Present+day Revival
In our present day, just as in biblical times, God continues to answer the cry of modern generations by raising His generals. Examples include Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Charles Finney, Duncan Campbell, William Seymour, Billy Graham, Joseph Ayo Babalola, S. G. Elton, Reinhard Bonnke, and Kathryn Kuhlman.
Their unchanging core messages remain repentance, prayer and intercession, obedience to God’s Word, holiness and righteousness, and salvation through Christ.
In September 1997, while praying intensely for Africa, the Lord spoke to me through Ezekiel 36:33–38. He revealed a coming revival in Nigeria marked by widespread repentance and confession of sin, the salvation of multitudes, a resurgence of intercessory prayer, restoration of the Church, and societal and national transformation.
God promised that He Himself would cleanse the land, rebuild ruined places, and restore what had been desolate, not by human power, but by His Spirit.
As with Wales, the vision extended beyond one nation. The Lord revealed that this move would inspire similar awakenings across Africa and beyond.
Like Evan Roberts, whose revival was birthed in obscurity and prayer, my journey began humbly, writing letters, distributing tracts, and sharing messages of repentance, salvation, and holiness within the local Pentecostal prosperity church where I worshiped and served.
From churches to streets, hospitals, and public spaces, these acts of obedience laid the foundation for what later became the Revive Us Again movement, expressed through Nigeria Global Intercessors, a ministry birthed out of prayer rather than ambition.
The Lord revealed that Nigeria’s crises, violence, insecurity, economic hardship, injustice, and social fragmentation, are symptoms of a deeper spiritual condition. As in pre-revival Wales, the answer is not denial or blame-shifting, but humbling ourselves before God.
The call remains repentance from sin and compromise, a return to holiness and obedience, awakening from spiritual slumber, and persistent intercession for the land. God’s desire is to revive the Church, heal the land, and make Nigeria a blessing to other nations.
Now the question remains: will we heed the call to preach repentance, intercession, and obedience, or will we ignore the warnings and resist the Spirit? Biblically and historically, the messages preached by God’s generals were rooted in repentance because of the darkness of their times.
Light shone from their messages. In our contemporary age, the darkness ravaging our nation and the world is undeniable. Would it not be wise to follow the same pattern that produced lasting results?
The answer depends on our choice.
One man, chosen by God and burdened by divine revelation, was set apart for a historic move of the Holy Spirit in Wales. That man was Evan Roberts, a young coal miner turned prophet, intercessor, and revivalist.
Between 1904 and 1905, the Welsh Revival ignited a spiritual fire that reshaped a nation. It was not the product of human strategy, organization, or institutional power, but of a man on his knees in earnest prayer, spiritual warfare, and deep intercession.
Roberts preached repentance, holiness, and total surrender to the Holy Spirit. His core messages called people to confess all known sin, remove doubtful things, obey the Holy Spirit promptly, and publicly confess Christ.
The result was extraordinary transformation, taverns closed, prisons emptied, crime rates fell, debts were repaid, families were restored, and entire communities were transformed. More than 100,000 souls were saved in a matter of months.
The fire spread globally, influencing revivals across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and directly impacting the Azusa Street Revival that birthed the global Pentecostal movement.
Now the call stands before this generation. Are you willing to be that man or woman God can use today? Are you ready to pay the price of prayer, fasting, obedience, sacrifice, and endurance? Are you willing to preach and live the same truths proclaimed by God’s generals?
It is worth it, for the glory of God, the advance of the Gospel, the restoration of the Church, the salvation of sinners, and eternal reward.
Lord, do it again, starting with us.
Prophet John Abiola
Revive Us Again Series 119.
Revive Us Again is a global prayer movement uniting believers across nations to return to God’s heart, seek genuine repentance, and cry out for revival until the Church is restored and the Great Commission fulfilled.
Contact:
globalintercessors7@gmail.com
prophetjohnabiola97@gmail.com
nigeriaglobalintercessorsngi@gmail.com