If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  II Chronicles 7:14 

        The need for revival in our nation’s spiritual drought is of even greater significance than the need for rain in our physical drought. Of more importance than praying for rain is the necessity to pray for salvation of the lost and to pray for revival among God's people.
        God did not say that, if the lost were to get right, then He would heal the land. He said that, if the saved (“my people which are called by my name”) were to get right (“humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways”), then He would listen to the prayers of His people (“then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land”). 
        The lost need to be evangelized, but sometimes the saved need to be revived. 
        God's people need to be desperate for Him, and desperate for lost and hurting souls. As desperate as we are for rain to cleanse and refresh a parched earth, we need to be desperate for a cleansing of our souls to refresh our own hearts and lives. 
        We need to pray for those who do not see their need for revival; who do not want to be held accountable for actions, words, and attitudes that do not reflect the message of Christ; who create a false light in which to cast others, in order to conceal their own sin.  God's people need to pray that He will bring a spirit of repentance to the unrepentant, and that He will change attitudes and motives, actions and speech to better reflect the truth and the light, the love and the message of Christ. 
        We need to be grieved by sin that grieves a holy God, for it was sin that nailed Jesus to the cross. The song "Feel the Nails" reminds us that sin hurts not only ourselves and others, but Christ, as well. "Does He still feel the nails, every time I fail? Does He hear the crowd cry ‘Crucify’ again? Am I causing Him pain? Then I know I’ve got to change. I just can’t bear the thought of hurting Him."
        The key word is ‘change’. Before forgiveness comes repentance. True repentance means more than regretting, but changing direction -- turning from wrong attitudes and wrong behavior, and being sorrowful over sin. But the first step in turning from sin is recognizing that sin. The first step in changing is recognizing the need to change. The first step in repentance is recognizing the need to ask for forgiveness. 
        God’s people need to reach the lost, because time is fleeting. 
        We need to seek first the kingdom of God. 
        We need to humble ourselves before trying to bring others into the kingdom of God. To reach others, we need to live the message, and not let pride prevent us from getting right with God and getting right with others. As Matthew 5:24 tells us, we are to leave our gifts at the altar and make peace with one another, for no amount of giving or works can equal being right with God and others and living a life of truth and love. 
        No one can reach perfection, but we are to strive toward the goal of holiness by the example set by Jesus Christ. In our journey with the Lord, we are to grow more and more Christ-like -- in our attitudes, in our speech, and in our actions. When falling short, a person needs to change direction, ask and accept forgiveness from God and fellow man, then continue serving the Lord and serving others. 
        But the first step is recognizing one's own sin, being repentant over that sin, and recognizing the need for revival in one’s own heart. 
        God's people need to make our priority not only going to heaven, but taking as many people as we can to heaven with us -- and being a shining light, not a stumblingblock, in the path of others.