I“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

“God have mercy on me, a sinner,” is one of the most powerful confessions a Christian can make to come into the truth, presence and power of God. There are two key aspects of this truth that we can embrace and pray for to invite renewal and revival to our land.

1. Pray for humility!  Ask to grow in it personally and pray for it in the Church. God is the only truly holy person on the planet.  The rest of us desperately need the grace of Christ.

2. The humble will be exalted.  This promise of God is key for the Church.  As we come together in humility and offer ourselves to God, He is eager to pour out His presence.  Asbury University is a key illustration of this.  

Renewal and revival are never the work of man, they are the loving response of God to His children as they come together in humble, extraordinary prayer and worship.  We then choose to respond to His presence.  As we experience the truth of God’s love, power and holiness, we respond to Him in the appropriate way: we fall on our faces and praise and worship our holy God. It is then that His power and grace changes our land.  God have mercy on us, we are sinners!