Karen: We’re getting close to our 60th wedding anniversary.

David: I’m on top of it. June 24th. I already told you how we’re celebrating together.

Karen: Yeah, how are we doing that?

David: You forgot already. But I told you, you seemed quite pleased anyway.

Karen: I was quite pleased. Do you think we’ve learned anything good in these 60 years?

David: I would say a few things, yeah.

Karen: How many things?

David: Well, not a huge list of them.

Karen: I could make a good list, I think.

David: Good. You’re good. I rely on you.

Karen: And I’m wondering if we can share some of those in this podcast.

David: Yeah, of course we can, but not today.

Karen: Oh, not today?

David: Not today.

Karen: Okay, okay. Just checking.

Intro: Welcome to the Before We Go Podcast, featuring Dr. David Mains and his wife noted author, Karen Mains. Here’s David and Karen Mains.

Karen: You, David, have been incredibly disciplined writing at your desk. That’s where you have spent the last couple of weeks. Almost non-stop. What’s the book title you’re working on and how far along you say you are? Just checking.

David: The book title is Prayer Vigilantes, and I’m hoping that kind of piques people’s curiosity. I have very strong feelings about it. I’ve shared some on the podcast, as you know. I have completed five. I’m not going to touch any more five chapters.

Karen: This has been a concentrated effort. Yes, yes. You have really morning, noon, and night staying with it.

David: The sixth chapter, I would say I’m almost done with that. I would say that where I’m projecting is that it’s probably nine or ten chapters, at the most, to be eleven. So I’m probably two-thirds finished. You just keep pushing and you say, I’ll get this done, even though it’s a huge amount of work. I’m going to share some of the chapter I’m working on right now. It’s chapter six. It’s about exponential improvement in terms of your prayer life, praying for another awakening. Because there are gaps. I can’t do the whole chapter. It’s sequential and people can follow. I think that’s the case.

Patrol in twos or you lose. That was Pete the cab driver’s advice to the solo granny back in chapter one. Here’s a bit more of the narrative just to refresh your memory. The solo grandma mumbled something about her partner over sleeping and thinking she could handle it by herself and with the power outs and everything she thought. But hearing her own words, she finally lowered her eyes. Pete winked at her and said, “Oh well, everyone’s got to learn sooner or later that a vigilante rule is a good rule.”

Here’s something my experience has taught me about praying for revival. You mature in the process more quickly by being part of a group, as contrasted to just talking to the Lord alone. At least this has certainly been true for me. Several years back, I was speaking in the Dallas, Texas area. Talking with people after the meeting, I was approached by a man who asked if I was interested in being part of a revival prayer group that meets by phone. My response was that recently I had actually begun praying about finding a new such group.

The small Saturday morning meeting of four in which I had been apart had recently lost two members due to job changes. Though I had never before attempted praying by phone, I was certainly open to the idea. This gentleman gave me a piece of paper with his name, the number to call, plus the already established time of the Wednesday meetings. I thanked him and that was about it. The verbal exchange happened quite quickly.

By the next Wednesday, I was back home again in the greater Chicago land area, and I precisely at noon proceeded to dial the number. A man answered and I recognized his voice. We talked for a while before I began to suspect that the two of us were the group. Any apprehension I might have had, however, quickly vanished when this new friend began to pray. It was wonderful. There was no question, but what this was someone who was not only comfortable talking to God, he was also quite knowledgeable regarding matters related to the scriptures and to spiritual awakenings. It’s fair to report that in all my years I had never heard anyone pray quite the way Ron did, and when he spoke to the Lord, he was passionate. From when I first met him, I would affirm that no one would ever accuse this man of being a smooth talker. His ideas were normally expressed somewhat haltingly, and it took a while before someone came to the conclusion that this person was really incredibly smart, but it was soon wonderfully obvious to me that God had graciously given me a prayer partner who would push me to improve as a more mature intercessor.

As the weeks and months and years have now passed, a few others have regularly joined with us. Unfortunately, I can’t report that we have seen surprising numerical jumps like Mr. Landfier’s group did back in 1857, but those of us who continue to meet this way make our Wednesday noon times together a top priority. As of now, some four-plus years into the process, our revival phone group is between six at the least each meeting and eight at the most. It’s not as though Ron and I haven’t invited others to join with us, but there have just been very few takers.

This is personally disappointing because Wednesday news for me are a new-don’t-miss-it weekly high point. To be more positive, a couple from Michigan is always on the connection as well. They view their involvement as a divine calling. Even during the prolonged sickness and ultimate death and funeral of a beloved son-in-law, they almost never missed. Marv’s prayers are often the Daniel type, where the great Old Testament government official serving in Babylon identifies with the flaws of his fellow countrymen.

Barb, Marv’s wife, has a great love of Scripture and I am repeatedly challenged by the way she skillfully weaves what she is reading from God’s word into her prayers. Sherman and Marty dial in from California. For them, it’s a 10 a.m. call because of the time difference. His prayers keep us current as he’s remarkably well informed about what God is doing in America. Frequently, his wife will read a portion of Scripture before praying, and it’s amazing to me how the one she chooses is always so spot-on. When I think of the two of them, the words, “gotcha covered,” come to mind. It’s usually toward the end of the call when they say that to someone in the group who’s voiced a request. Gotcha covered means the two of them will be praying as requested between now and the next time we are on the line together.

When she’s not working, Ron’s wife, Cynthia, is occasionally able to join us. That’s always a treat. She is a maiden warrior, up to her ears in ministry. Just hearing her speak to God is an easy way to learn a lot about talking to Jesus. Then there’s Bob from Ohio. He likes to say that he and his wife are a paradox. What he means by that is they both have their doctrines. They are a pair of docs. Anyway, I love the way he thinks. He asks questions like, “Remind me, what are we actually asking God to do? Oh yeah, I got it. It’s that revival thing. And what is that supposed to mean? Did I tell you my wife recently said she sees me growing spiritually since I got in this group? Wow, does that qualify as personal revival? I hope it does, because this spiritual growth stuff has proven to be really hard on me. I like it, I don’t like it.” Bob is a divergent thinker. Every group should have one. I have known him for some decades. He is a great friend. I love him dearly, but I feel the same way about everyone in our now tightly knit bunch. Anyway, that’s us.

Last chapter was about numbers being important. I’m not sure all the others would agree with me, but I believe we need to see thousands and thousands of vigilante prayer groups like this forming quickly all across our country. Ron believes God can do what he wants in this nation, regardless of the numbers. He reminded me that in the time of Gideon, the Lord told his servant that he had too many troops. Judges 7: 2-3 reads, “The Lord said to Gideon, you have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands or Israel would boast against me. My own strength has saved me. Now, announce to the army anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead. So, 22,000 men left while 10,000 remain. Eventually, even more of Israel’s men were eliminated until only 300 were still available.” It was that small number of fighters who then won a great victory of Israel over the Midianites.

I don’t argue with Ron, even though I still maintain that we need to see thousands and thousands of vigilante prayer groups like this forming quickly all across the country. God can do something miraculous whenever he so desires. I also believe, as I shared in the previous chapter, that vigilantes of old knew that numbers were important, and so should today’s prayer vigilantes. I figure that the two of us are attempting to embrace both sides of a mystery that aren’t always that easy to reconcile. So, I’ll leave that puzzle unresolved and put into a sentence the more immediate point I’m attempting to get across.

Your revival praying should improve exponentially as a result of participating in a group with that singular focus. I know mine has. By the way, I looked up exponential to make sure I was using the word properly. It means increasing in extraordinary proportions. He has good word. That’s it exactly. I’ll write it again. Your revival praying should improve exponentially as a result of participating in a group with that singular focus. The focus of praying for revival.

We who pray together by phone on Wednesdays are a diverse group. We represent various churches, which is quite remarkable, and also various political affiliations, which is even more remarkable. We are passionate about our love of country, and even more so regarding our love of Christ and his now and future kingdom. If anything were to happen to any of the eight of us in our Wednesday group, it would be a huge blow. I mention this because since initially meeting, we have each of us experienced a heartbreak of one kind or another.

There has been the loss of a job, the death of a close loved one, life threatening sickness, a freak serious accident, and so on. Is this because of enemy opposition of what we’re doing? We don’t really know, but we have our suspicions. On the other hand, I don’t sense that any of us are at the same place spiritually as when we first began. I believe we have all experienced significant spiritual growth in our walks with the Lord. Based on our experiences, I believe it’s fair to again state that prayer vigilantes become proficient more quickly when they pray with others as contrasted almost exclusively praying alone.

Is Pete the cab driver winking at you? Is he telling you that sooner or later everyone’s got to learn that a vigilante rule is a good rule? Imagine that you’re circling Mount Carmel in your news helicopter trying to get a glimpse of the prophet who has just amazed the nation of Israel. He has beaten incredible odds, 850 false prophets to one true prophet.

Now his name is on everyone’s lips as the crowds head home down the slopes of the mountain. “Maybe that’s the prophet over there,” you shout to your pilot. But you can’t really see the man’s face. It’s tucked between his knees, only his back is visible. “Drop down a bit,” you yell over the engine noise. “We’ll get a tighter shot of what he’s doing.” You move in closer. “Look at that. He’s on his knees praying. You’d think that getting God to send a scorching fireball from heaven would be enough to ask for him one day. Hey look, he’s waving at us now. What’s he yelling? Maybe we upset him. I can’t quite make it out. Store something. That doesn’t make sense. Wait, not store, storm. I’ve got a storm coming. Ha, ha, ha. Who’s he kidding? It hasn’t rain in these parts for years.”

A fireball from heaven. A rainstorm in the middle of a drought. It might sound improbable. But minus the helicopter, of course, scripture states that it’s true. Quote, “The sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, and a heavy rain came on,” 1 Kings 18. As the Lord had shut the heavens for three and a half years, so now he would send a cloudburst. The burning of the sacrifice in its altar with fire from heaven wasn’t all God had in mind for this special day. Elijah knew it. There was much more to come.

An Old Him, Showers of Blessing uses the image of rain falling on dry and parched ground as a picture of spiritual revival. Verse two of the hymn begins, “There shall be showers of blessing, precious reviving again.” Did you catch the word? Reviving? The chorus adds, “Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.” The drops may be falling, but we must keep on praying for the showers. There’s a difference between the early sprinkles and the later steady rainfall that’s really needed.

Sometimes God’s people are mollified more quickly than they should be. Be careful. Don’t be satisfied with the early rains of revival. Instead, pray even more intensely for a spiritual downpour. It’s not enough for one person in a hundred. One family in a hundred. One church in a hundred. Or one community in a hundred to experience the life-giving presence of the Lord. I believe the name of Jesus needs to be on the lips in the lives of a far greater percentage of people than that. The drops falling on God’s people need to become a downpour.

Do you remember the story of King Joash? He had the wonderful privilege of visiting Elisha shortly before the ailing prophet died. When the king desperately needed the advice of this man of God, he was simply told to take some arrows and strike the ground with them. Joash did this, but stopped after three times. The scriptures read the man of God was angry with him and said you should have struck the ground five or six times, then you would have defeated Erem and completely destroyed it, but now you will defeat it only three times.

If we are to see more than scattered victories in our day, Satan will need to be beaten decisively time and time and time again. In the grand scheme of things, anything less will hardly be worth talking about. So don’t succumb to thinking small. Don’t be satisfied with that which in the big picture is really trivial. Cultivate a mindset like that of Elijah in Elisha, which declares a great victory. Yes, now let’s add to it. Striking the floor three times isn’t enough. Do it at least twice as many times. “There shall be showers of blessing. Precious, reviving again. Over the hills and the valleys. Sound of abundance of rain. Showers of blessing. Showers of blessing we need. Mercy drops around us are falling, but for the showers we bleed.”

Karen: It’s a hard time getting through that one, right? Honey, that’s where your heart is, your soul too. So, it’s good to demonstrate how deeply you feel long for that.

David: Yeah, and for the sake of the country. You either see it move toward the Lord or otherwise it’s a move more toward decay and death.

Karen: Coldness is what I see, is a lack of passion. You know, it’s just a whole humhum Christianity too often.

David: Well, I gotta finish it. Back to my desk.

Outgo: You’ve been listening to the Before We Go podcast. And if you would like to write to us, please send us an email at the following address: hosts@beforewego.show. That’s all lower case letters: hosts@beforewego.show. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please remember to rate, review, and share on whatever platform you listen. This podcast is copyright 2021 by Mainstay Ministries, Post Office Box 30, Wheaton, Illinois 60187.