Psalm 126:4-6 (ESV)
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Israel asked for a dramatic turnaround in this Psalm. Their prayer was to restore them to the way that they were before they turned away from God.

The streams mentioned in verse 4 are those in the South of Judah. During the dry season, they are just stream beds, no water in them. However, in the rainy season, they become torrents of water. The psalmist is asking for a flood, a rapid change from God. Sometimes God answers prayer with a flood, sometimes He answers slowly after a long period of persistent prayer.

In verse 5 there is a link between the future joy to the present sorrow. The psalmist is indicating that unless we weep over our sin, unless we really understand the full measure of the sin in our lives we will not receive the full joy that God wants to provide. If we want revival, the first step is a deep understanding and acknowledgement of our sin. If I don’t think about it, I can fall into a mode where I look at myself as “not too bad” in God’s eyes. Certainly, because of the blood of Jesus we are now righteous. However, if we are truly going to be sanctified as Jesus would want, we have to deal with our sin at a fundamental level. No sugar coating. No comparison of others that we see as worse sinners. We must fully repent, in tears as the psalmist says. That is how we have to operate each and every day. That is our present condition.

Verse 6 then shows the future result of that. We will see the fruit. Only then can revival come.

When we pray, as we praise God for our relationship in Christ, we must also take a look deep within ourselves. No matter how much we “DO”, unless we are working on the sin in our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit, revival will not come.

Do you want revival? Are you ready to do what is needed? Let’s start with tears of repentance. Let’s pray about our own relationship with God, asking Him to reveal the sin in our lives.