Psalm 51:10–12 CEB

10 Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me! 11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence; please don’t take your holy spirit away from me. 12 Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Revival Begins In Me

Picture in your mind a man named John. He was raised in a family that taught him to love God; he grew up as a believer and follower. However, as he got older, life took over. The demands of work, love, and his wants slowly overtook him. He started making concessions, modest ones at first, but more. Over time, he lost interest in church and the things of God. Slowly, one step at a time, he found himself further from God than he thought he'd ever be. He was ashamed and guilty. He knew he'd gone off the rails somewhere, yet he felt there was no way to get back on it.

Then, one night, John discovered in the Bible a verse he'd read about God's grace and mercy as a boy. He was then convinced that he needed to return to God. He started praying, broken, and asking God to forgive and renew him. Not in one instance, but gradually, as he turned to God, his heart would soften. What began as regret and shame was transformed into promise and healing, and he felt at peace for the first time in years.

We can all relate to John's story because we have been there. We may not have walked that far, but we all know what it feels like to stumble, to be defeated, and to need God's grace. The Bible also has a story of conviction, forgiveness, and salvation with King David.

But David, the man after God's own heart, was caught up in sin too. When he got complacent about life and comfortable, he let envy take over his conscience. In a flurry of bad decisions, he spiraled into sin and shame. But David's story didn't end there. David spilled his heart out in a confessional prayer we read about in Psalm 51 after the prophet Nathan confronted him. He speaks as every heart that hears God's call calls to Him: "Make in me a pure heart, O God, make in me a righteous spirit.

David's prayer shows us that revival starts with a heart that's honest about its need—a heart that's humble enough to ask God for mercy and a fresh start. Revival isn't just about steering clear of sin; it's about drawing close to God and asking Him to bring us back to life when our love has grown distant and cold.

And that's how we got here. Maybe we aren't David or John who confessed or strayed from God. But maybe we're stuck in the same rut with Him. We can still do the same things — go to church, say the right things — but we don't care. We have gotten used to it and let our love of God cool off.

This week, as we begin this journey of praying for revival, let's start by asking God to take a hard look in our hearts. Let's call on Him to revive tired or distant parts of ourselves, to revive a sense of joy we used to have in knowing Him, and to restore a real, alive, and passionate love for Him.

As we see in John’s story and David’s prayer in Psalm 51, revival is not the process of radical transformation in the world, but of transformation in ourselves. It starts with our hearts, because sometimes our own lives need a new start.

The Foundation of Personal Revival – Seeking a Clean Heart

Revival takes a broken heart to God, a heart that’s ready to admit what has to change.

Think of an overflowing closet – the kind you haven’t touched for a while. It seems like a small job to start with; it’s a closet. But you take stuff out, and you see just how much has been sitting there: clothes from a long time ago, forgotten things, stuff you never use or remember keeping. In order to make space, you need to discard things you don’t need anymore.

Revival begins when we’re open to ourselves, open to God, willing to go inward and say, "Lord, tell me what needs to change." It also involves opening our own hearts to the aspects of our lives that we’d rather leave alone or move on. Imagine looking at that closet full of things from the past. The process looks easy enough, until you finally take everything out and realize how much stuff has accumulated over the years. Somethings in there you figured you were over — old hurts, old grudges, old habits, old distractions — but have been lying around. And getting rid of it doesn’t come fast, because it hurts. It requires confronting those things that we have lost or locked away.

This is captured beautifully in David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23–24 “23 Examine me, God! Look at my heart! Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts! 24 Look to see if there is any idolatrous way in me, then lead me on the eternal path!”

Here, David does not simply say to God that he should look at his life but probe and look deep within him. He's asking God to show him whatever keeps getting in the way of intimacy with God. That's the nature of this openness, and only then can we ask God to reshape it.

And even if the looking is painful, God's reaction is never to condemn. He doesn't show us our trash to shame us; He shows it because he's liberating us from anything hindering the fullness of His love.

Returning to our cluttered closet image, think about how we often hold onto things “just in case.” We hang onto past hurts, sometimes because they’ve become a part of our identity or because they feel safer than healing and moving forward. Or maybe we’ve clung to a particular way of thinking—bitterness, pride, or complacency—without realizing it’s preventing us from embracing new growth.

But just like cleaning out an old closet brings freedom, so does allowing God to remove these things from our hearts. We clear space for His peace to fill us, His joy to grow, and a revived sense of purpose to take root. Matthew 5:8, where Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” tells us this is about openness, not perfection. When we let go of what no longer serves us, our vision of God becomes clearer.

In Isaiah 57:15 God says: “15 The one who is high and lifted up, who lives forever, whose name is holy, says: I live on high, in holiness, and also with the crushed and the lowly, reviving the spirit of the lowly, reviving the heart of those who have been crushed.”

Here, God promises to meet those who are humble and willing to seek renewal. Revival happens not in lofty achievements or outward success but in hearts willing to bow low, to be reshaped and refilled by God’s presence. This willingness to be changed is a gift we give back to God.

So today, just take a few deep breaths and say to God, "What do I need to let go of that is stuck in my heart?" Is there bitterness I've cultivated? Are there habits that have crept in and made me lazy about believing? Maybe for others, it's pride or the inclination to use our own power instead of God's.

It is not simple to get rid of "the clutter." It is coming face to face with truths about ourselves that we've been putting off. But as we do, God's mercy meets us there, gently and kindly encouraging us to give up so that He can fill those pockets with His rest, purpose, and presence.

Ask yourself:

What kind of habits or thoughts am I having that are preventing me from experiencing God?

How can I ask God to free me from the junk and clutter that no longer belongs in my life?

Revival begins here, at a heart open to change. By allowing space for God to enter our hearts, we can experience renewed excitement, desire, and intimacy with God. It's the start of something fresh when our hearts are empty, uncluttered, and open to all of God's presence.

When we remove the clutter in our hearts, we begin to make space in our hearts for God to move in us. Providing space, though, is only the beginning. For this revival to occur, there needs to be a change, a transformation away from the old barriers and back to God with a new heart. This is where repentance’s power lies.

The Power of Repentance – Turning Toward God

Repentance is not about simply being sorry for our mistakes and sins; it’s about refocusing everything. It’s a never-ending, continual alignment with God’s heart and purposes. True repentance requires being honest with ourselves and humble before God, admitting that we’ve fallen off track, and trusting God to get us back on track.

We see in David’s account the beauty and substance of authentic repentance. When confronted by the prophet Nathan, David’s prayer in Psalm 51 was not about his own sins so much as a prayer for a complete change. (Psalm 51:10) “Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!” David saw that he didn’t simply need forgiveness; he needed a new heart, one that would keep him perfectly in God’s will.

The act of repentance is not a once-and-for-all thing; it's an ongoing, lifelong journey of turning back to God. Because let's be honest; we all get distracted and pulled in different directions by distractions, pressures, and ambitions. The things that lead us away from God aren't always "bad"—they can be careers, families, and dreams. But even these noble endeavors can drift us out of line with time.

In the busyness of life, we get sidetracked all the time. We might think that confession is something to be done only when we've done something blatantly wrong, and we "check the box" when we need forgiveness. But genuine repentance involves much more than failure. And it's a consistent, conscious practice of returning to God, time and again, and asking, "Lord, am I still walking with You? Are I still going after Your heart?"

Imagine repentance as a "reboot" or “reset” in the spiritual sense. Like a car that needs constant alignment checks to remain straight, our hearts need constant checks to stay synchronized with God's will. Without these corrections, we are more inclined to drift out of line, even if it's by a couple of degrees. Unchecked, those little degrees start adding up, and we're already a long way from God's ideal.

That's why Paul exhorts the saints in Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." The transformation Paul outlines isn't instantaneous; it's a process, a day-to-day journey of allowing God to transform our minds, hearts, and intentions. So repentance is part of that renewal—a lifelong attitude of readiness to allow God's gentle and powerful work in our lives.

To be "always open" to God's transformative work is to have openness to what God does all the time. True repentance calls on us to be frank about the little things: Are there behaviors or habits we need to change? Have we let fear or pride get a grip more powerful than God's peace? Is there anything in our hearts that we aren't giving to Him?

Repentance like this is not self-righteousness but God lovingly redirecting us. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul explains this is "from one degree of glory to another."

Transformation, in other words, is slow, and we are getting closer to Christ's image day by day. And repentance, the continual turn of our hearts to God, makes that change possible.

Imagine the potter turning clay on a wheel. The clay does not emerge as the final shape immediately; it unfolds over time, as every motion of the potter's fingers brings it one step closer to the desired form. And if the clay resists, or something pushes it out of balance, the potter gently but steadily returns it to its place, reframing it to stay in the desired pattern.

In the same way, our personal repentance helps God re-assign us to His center on His wheel to conform us to His purposes.

Repentance is, therefore, not guilty or ashamed but opening ourselves to being transformed, for God's ever-improving design is at work. Because let's be honest; we all get distracted and pulled in different directions by distractions, pressures, and ambitions. The things that lead us away from God aren't always "bad"—they can be careers, families, and dreams. But even these noble endeavors can drift us out of line with time.

Something beautiful starts to happen as we embrace a daily journey of repentance and allow God realign our hearts. Every step toward Him causes us to experience a great sense of renewal—a renewal that brings back the joy we once enjoyed in our connection with God. Repentance opens the road; but, renewal and restoration bring us back to life.

When we experience this renewal, it’s like being given a fresh perspective on a familiar truth: that God’s love for us hasn’t changed, that our salvation is as powerful and life-giving now as it was when we first believed. This renewal stirs something in us, awakening the joy that may have felt faded or distant. And with this joy, we’re strengthened for God’s purposes, ready to live out our faith with a fresh sense of passion.

Renewal and Restoration The Joy of Salvation

Revival isn’t just about brushing off the dirt and dust and returning to God. Revival is about being made whole and new again. God doesn’t just want to forgive us—He wants to bring us back to the joy of living close to Him. God wants our faith to be revived, He wants to transform us so that our faith feels as new and vivid as it did when we first experienced His love.

David says in Psalm 51:12 “12 Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit.” David is not asking for forgiveness; he is asking for transformation. He's asking God to restore that sense of wonder and delight, to rediscover the love that might have become sluggish. The JOY is at the heart of revival because it's the JOY of knowing that we are loved, saved, and in the possession of God.

Think of a dusty old piece of furniture hidden away in an old closet. One was someone's pride and joy, and it's grown dusty and scratched. And when someone finally does pick it up, they don't just polish it up. They sand away rough areas, fill cracks, and spray new coats of paint or finish. Inched by inch, the original luster of the work is brought back. The restoration does not simply restore the furniture to "like new" – it respects its original beauty, uncovering what existed in the past, only hidden in decades of abuse.

Likewise, God wants to expose the joy, purpose, and splendor that have been lost under distractions, failures, or ordinary life. Experiencing revival is about coming home to what we already have inside us: the joy of salvation, the God-love that was always there.

In Isaiah 43:19 God says: “19 Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?” He’s doing a transformative work. God's work in us isn't only about being the same old person we were but about experiencing something new, being brought to a new beginning. And he wants to take us back to a place of joy, where the intimacy with Him is vibrant.

I want to share Sarah's story with you. Sarah had been a very active member of her church, passionate about her faith and ready to tell people about it. But as the years went on, life's challenges – work demands, failures, family drama – began to eat at her heart. Gradually, she lost the joy of faith in favor of going through the motions. She went to church, prayed when she could, and tried to be present, but she was far away and worn in her mind.

So, one night, at the end of a particularly bad day, Sarah stood in an empty church sanctuary, desperate for her life to turn around. She kneeled, her eyes heavy and words few, and said, "God, revive me." She shared with God her fatigue, fear, and disappointments. And there, in that silence, she felt something tug on her heart, a feeling of calm and peace that she hadn't experienced in years. It was not a dramatic transformation but a new beginning in which her fatih made sense, her joy real, and her devotion to God reignited.

Today, perhaps you identify with Sarah. And maybe you're there, with the burden of life on our shoulders, asking whether the fire we had for God can ever be rekindled. Revival begins with the heart that will seek God as it is if it is weak and tired and says, "God, revive me."

Please stand with me

I want to extend an invitation as we draw to a close, for everyone to come forward and join me at the altar, where we can open our hearts to God. No matter if you kneel, sit, or stand, feel free to come just as you are, with a heart ready for the amazing changes He wants to bring about in you. Revival begins right here, right now—with an open heart, eager to say, “God, I need You to work in me.” It’s a simple prayer, yet it holds great power, and it’s the starting point for true revival.

Let’s use this time together to ask Him to remove anything within us that’s holding us back, anything that’s prevented our faith from feeling vibrant and purposeful. Let's pray for Him to help us realign our hearts with His, bringing back the joy we experienced when we first came to know Him. For some of us, it may seem like a gentle whisper of hope; for others, it could feel like a wonderful breakthrough.

This is our time to approach Him just as we are, bringing along all our doubts, fears, weariness, and longings. Just remember, God's grace is right here with you. He’s excited to refresh and revive all of us, looking forward to filling us with new purpose and joy. Hey there! Come on over and join me as we look for His renewing presence and pray together for a fresh start in our hearts and lives.