Dear friends in Christ,
A little reminder that all the articles on this website are the personal opinions of the authors and any copyright is preserved – please respect the rights of the authors and do not copy or re-post these articles unless you have permission.
God bless you!
Bjorn and Lilia Schmid
Revival Is Love
(by Michael J Smith, 28-January-2026. All Scripture quotes are from the ESV – the English Standard Version)
Revival is being a disciple.
It is losing our life to find true life—to love God and love people.
A Revival Fire
A revival fire is one that burns the heart and soul of a nation, a community, a people.
But what is revival, really?
Many people long for it and desire it. But what actually is revival?
Is it large crowds? Is it signs and wonders? Mass salvation? Mass water baptisms?
Is revival defined by external manifestations, or by internal transformation?
If we begin with the Word of God, we must ask:
What does God require most? What does He desire most?
Surely this must be the starting point of revival.
God moves by His Spirit where His Word is lived. There is unity between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is at work on the earth to enable us to live the Word of God.
So we must ask:
Can we have revival if the Body of Christ does not live according to the Word of God?
Can we live according to our own will and desires and still expect God to fulfil His will in our lives, in the Church, and in the nation?
Do We Know God?
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
— 1 John 4:7-8
What Does God Require?
God does not call us to pursue revival as the objective.
He calls us to have God revived in us—
in our hearts, our lives, our families, and our communities.
So what does revival look like?
It looks like the Greatest Commandment.
That should be our highest pursuit and our governing priority.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
— Matthew 22:37b-40
Revival looks like loving God above all and with our all.
It looks like Jesus reigning as Lord in our hearts.
It looks like loving our neighbour—not fighting them, hating them, gossiping about them, being jealous of them, competing with them, provoking one another, or seeking harm, but seeking their good.
Love—that is what revival looks like.
When our hearts are inflamed with the love of God, all we can do is love God above all and love one another.
This is what God has commanded.
So the question remains:
If we do not do what God has commanded, how can we have revival?
How is God revealed and experienced if we do not love Him and love one another as He requires?
Loving God or Loving the World
We want God to move, but do we obey what He says?
How can there be revival—God moving—when we do not love God above all?
When we love the world and the things of this world more than Him,
when we give most of our time to worldly pursuits,
when we give most of our resources to temporary things—
How can the love of God be in us?
When we love self more than God and our neighbour, how can His love abide in us?
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
— 1 John 2:15-17
God lays out a clear pathway to life in Him.
If we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us.
The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life are not from God.
The world is passing away, and those who cling to it will pass away with it.
Only those who do the will of God abide forever—both in this life and the life to come.
What a tragedy it is to trade the love of our Father for things that will perish.
The Test of the Heart
What do we love most?
What can we not do without?
How can the Holy Spirit move powerfully through our lives if we do not truly love Him, value Him, honour Him, and yield to His Lordship?
Revival is not praying for a move of the Holy Spirit whilst we choose not to love God and not to love one another.
Revival is loving God above all—living to love and obey Him—so that the love of the Father abides in us and overflows to our neighbour.
Revival without love is no revival at all.
God is love.
How can there be a revival of God where love is absent?
The Call to Repentance
This calls us to humble repentance:
repentance for loving self, others, and the world more than God;
repentance for not obeying His Word;
repentance for placing anything before Him.
Jesus said:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
— Matthew 10:37a,39
Revival is discipleship.
It is losing our life to find true life.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
— Luke 14:26
(To “hate” is not literal; it means to love less than.)
God is not seeking mere believers.
God is seeking disciples.
Disciples who do not love anything or anyone before Him.
Disciples who deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
Disciples who live for His will, not their own.
When our love is rightly ordered—God first, then others—
we are living the Greatest Commandment.
This Is Revival
We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind
while giving out from our heart, soul, and mind to restore everything else to Him.
Revival is loving God first
and loving our neighbour second.
That is revival.
What does loving God first look like?
- Living for God
- Living to love God
- Living to obey God
- Living to follow God
- Living to be Christ-like
And loving our neighbour:
- Caring for their needs
- Caring for their salvation—sharing Christ
- Making disciples
- Living out the Great Commission
Not living for ourselves, our pleasures, or our will—
but for God’s pleasure, God’s desires, and God’s will.
Revival is not the Holy Spirit moving independently of us.
It is the Holy Spirit pouring the love of God into our hearts,
and we then carrying that love to others.
I Gain Nothing
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The crowds, the events, signs, or wonders—
they will pass.
Love remains.
Without love, we gain nothing, it means nothing.
Our Father’s Love
God wants to fill us with His love. God desires that we are loved by Him all our days—to know and experience that love. When we know and experience God’s love, everything changes; our souls are satisfied in Him.
We can dwell and abide in His love—satisfied in His love, healed in His love, made whole in His love. We are loved as the children of God, adopted by our Heavenly Father.
Where else would we want to go but to dwell and abide in our Heavenly Father and His love for us?
What can compare to the love of our Father?
God is Love
When we love, we share God’s love—people encounter God.
That is revival.
Revival is…
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
— John 13:34-35
“If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.”
— 1 John 4:12b
The Way of Love
Love and truth are spiritual light. May we illuminate our nation with the love and truth of God.
I believe that as we are loved, and as we love in word and deed, revival—revived hearts—will flow throughout the nation. Lives will be transformed by the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. People will find life in Christ, not because they simply attended an event, but because they encountered God through our love for God and for them.
Whether in our workplace, on the street, on the bus, or in the shop, may people encounter Jesus. May the love of God compel us to be ambassadors for Christ, entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, imploring people to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5).
Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for us.
Would You take us to the place of dying to ourselves—dying to the things of the world, to self-love, and to loving others or things more than You.
Thank You for loving us.
Would You help us take up our cross and follow You, to live for You, to love and obey You above all, and to love one another, so the world will know we are your disciples.
May we be loved, and may we love!
Lord, may we know you!
Michael J Smith
www.SydneyPrayer.com.au
Four Levels of Forgiveness
(by Bjorn Schmid, November 2023. All Scripture quotes are from the NIV – the New International Version)
“When we forget it’s usually your birthday or something at the shop.
When God forgets, it’s our sin (’cause we asked) and He never remembers.”
(Bjorn Schmid, Facebook, August 2020)
When someone says “forgive and forget” what is your reaction?
Perhaps it depends on the context; who is saying it, and who and what is being forgiven.
I recall many years ago reading through Matthew chapter 6, thinking it a very safe chapter for easy reading; Jesus talking about giving, praying, fasting, and so on. The first item that struck me was in the Lord’s Prayer:
“And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
(Matthew 6:12)
“..as we also forgive our debtors” – ouch – there’s a dependency implied here. I have prayed the Lord’s Prayer so many times, since I was a child, in so many contexts and in so many places, but this was the first time that this dependency stood out and challenged me: have I been forgiving of others? I stopped reading and asked God earnestly to forgive me for not forgiving others as much as I expected to be forgiven for my own failures toward Him and towards others.
I then continued reading until the two verses that followed the Lord’s Prayer:
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
(Matthew 6:14-15)
If I “…do not forgive…” God “…will not forgive…” me – double-ouch!!
I have noticed that Jesus often repeats things in the same passage of scripture. You also see this in the revelations to the prophets recorded in the Old Testament – if God repeats something He is very serious about it. I therefore also had to be very serious about forgiveness, not the least so that I don’t jeopardise my own forgiveness by being indifferent or stone-hearted. I spent some time then in prayer asking God to remind me of people I needed to forgive – it was a very intense and rewarding time with Him.
However, there’s another dimension here: when we intercede for others and ask God’s forgiveness for their sins, we not only secure our own forgiveness but we open a door for those we are interceding for to be forgiven, even when they haven’t asked God for forgiveness. This radical effect is because God has asked us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31) – a commandment yes, but also a binding principle of our existence.
The opposite is also binding, as Jesus illustrates in His parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35). A servant was forgiven a huge, unpayable debt, but then proceeded to prosecute a fellow servant who owed him a minor debt, and subsequently brought the full judgement of the original unpayable debt onto his unforgiving head. At the end, Jesus makes the meaning of this illustration very clear:
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
(Matthew 18:35)
And that’s why I believe there are four levels of forgiveness, each deeper and more powerful than the previous level. The deeper levels are not necessarily more valuable as all levels of forgiveness are important, but they do lead into one another, especially in difficult scenarios, like doors into your soul. Ideally we should embrace all four when forgiveness is imminent.
1) Human Forgiveness
This is where a person forgives another for something that the other has done to them, or not done for them, or to/for someone they know. It does not involve God, and therefore although it provides an opportunity for some healing of the offended and the offender, it does not provide God’s forgiveness to the offender for offences that violate God’s laws – only God can forgive such sin (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21).
There are minor personal offenses we may commit every day, which should be easily forgiven by victims if the perpetrator is truly sorry and promises to not repeat the offence, especially if they are willing to try and make amends. However for more serious offences, where the finances or safety of people are compromised, it can be very difficult to offer forgiveness without God’s influence on the offended, especially where reparations are not possible.
An example of this are the parents of a group of children who were killed by a careless driver a few years ago – they publicly forgave him for his careless driving that killed their children. Although repentant and forgiven by the parents, he was still sentenced to jail by the courts. Similarly, until he or someone prays to God for his forgiveness, the driver is still guilty before God of killing those children and will ultimately suffer judgement for this sin.
2) Intercessory Forgiveness
Here, a person asks God to forgive the offender of an offence, or many offences. When God forgives a person, they are totally forgiven of the sin(s), and this intercession changes the way God views and communicates to and with the offender – the sin(s) that were pending eternal judgement are now removed and there is an opportunity for healing and restoration. We, as true believers can do this through God’s Holy Spirit whom we have invited into our being.
“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.””
(John 20:21-23)
The Apostle Paul also encourages us to be forgiving (Ephesians 4:32) and writes of this “ministry of reconciliation” in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 – we are wholly reconciled to God through Christ, and God has given us the role (and responsibility) of ambassadors of His Kingdom (and forgiveness) to the people of the world.
Note however that just praying for a particular offence or types of offences is good, but it does not cover any offences that have not been prayed for forgiveness. It is important for the recipient of the forgiveness – the offender – to also find their own reconciliation with God and accept Christ as their redeemer or else they will still be judged for their unbelief in God. We must include with our intercession some prayers for their own repentance and encounter with Christ.
The prime example of this is then Jesus uttered “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) while he was dying on the cross. In the previous example, the parents also asked God publicly to forgive the driver who killed their children – an amazing confession of our faith and love from the Holy Spirit in these people.
3) Appealed Forgiveness
When a person humbly and genuinely asks God for forgiveness for offences, God is faithful to forgive. In this situation an offender’s sins are totally erased from their life record in Heaven (Revelation 20:12). Most people who determine to go through this appeal for grace describe the heavy burden of their offences against God being lifted off them – they are now truly free.
Note however that there are two types of these books in heaven: the books of record of our lives, and the Book of Life itself. As verse fifteen says very clearly:
“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
(Revelation 20:15)
We need not only to ask for forgiveness for our sin, but also to submit ourselves to Christ’s rule and invite Him in as the Lord our lives in order to have our names written in the Book of Life (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3).
Zacchaeus of Jericho is a good example from scripture (Luke 19:1-10). You can find many testimonies of this in books and online, where people have accepted Christ forgiveness and rule, and the radical difference it has made to them and their lives.
4) Self-Forgiveness
Hang on, isn’t this a lower level than Appealed Forgiveness? You would think so, but ultimately forgiveness is an internal battle within each of us. The prophet Jeremiah testified that the hearts and minds of people are deceitful but God sees all and will reward each person appropriately (Jeremiah 17:9-10). We all need to allow the kingdom of God to reign in our hearts and minds, made possible through Christ Jesus, to transform our hearts and minds into His image and likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18) – unforgiven sin and unforgiveness is a barrier to this (Matthew 5:23-24).
Many people who have been forgiven by God still hold on to guilt for their past sins. Doubt in God’s promises can also be a sin – it is unbelief. The enemy of God was seeding unbelief in Eve in the Garden when he questioned her if God had really warned Adam about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3), and this led to Adam and Eve sinning in unbelief. But be reassured, all people struggle with unbelief, especially during crises – we can be humble and beseech God like the father of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9 did; “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
The enemy is always accusing us before God (Revelation 12:9-10), and he also grants us the attention to try and convince us that we’re still guilty of the things God has forgiven us of. Why? Because guilt is a very powerful and destructive force in the human psyche. We know when we are guilty of something, even if we think we have pushed it aside so as not to feel guilty, the sin is still there and it will continue to eat away at our souls and even our bodies until it is forgiven by God, and we accept (and confess) that it is forgiven.
Do not listen to the enemy, God is forever faithful to forgive us if we are earnest in our repentance and submissive to His will, i.e. we respect Him as our King, our Lord, our Judge; He has promised to forgive us and He does if we ask.
“Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
(Isaiah 55:7)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9)
So we must forgive ourselves of everything that we have asked God for forgiveness, and we need to resist the enemy of God when he comes and lies to us about our God-given freedom – he will flee!
PRAYER GUIDE FOR THE CHURCH IN 2026
(by Lilian Schmid)
A Year of Strengthening, Awakening, and Alignment
Foundational Scriptures for 2026
- Ephesians 3:16–19 — Strengthened in the inner man
- Isaiah 60:1–3 — Arise and shine in the midst of darkness
- Acts 2:17–21 — Outpouring, prophecy, and awakening
These three passages form the prophetic backbone for the Church in 2026: inner resilience, radiant witness, and Spirit-led boldness.
1. RETURN TO FIRST LOVE
The Center Must Be Christ
2026 will require a Church that is rooted, not restless; devoted, not distracted.
Pray for:
- Awe and wonder to return to worship
- Purification of motives in ministry and leadership
- Healing of spiritual fatigue, cynicism, and disappointment
- Restoration of rhythms: Sabbath, Scripture, communion, prayer
- Altars rebuilt in homes, not only in sanctuaries
Prayer: “Lord, restore to us the joy of our salvation. Reignite holy desire. Rebuild Your altar in us.”
2. STRENGTHENING THE INNER MAN
Resilience for a Shaking World
2026 will bring both opportunity and pressure. The Church must be unshakeable.
Pray for:
- Emotional resilience and spiritual stamina
- Discernment to distinguish truth from noise
- Courage without harshness
- Healing from burnout, fragmentation, and disappointment
Prayer: “Holy Spirit, strengthen us with might in the inner man. Make us unshakeable in You.”
3. ECCLESIA ARISING
Reclaiming the Church’s Public Voice
Not political partisanship — prophetic clarity.
Pray for:
- A Church that speaks truth with wisdom and compassion
- Leaders who carry moral authority, not just platforms
- Unity without uniformity
- Courage to address injustice, deception, and confusion
Prayer: “Lord, raise Your ecclesia to legislate in the Spirit, not react in the flesh.”
4. FAMILIES AS DISCIPLESHIP CENTERS
The Home Is the Frontline
2026 will highlight the home as the primary place of formation.
Pray for:
- Parents to become confident disciples
- Restoration of marriages
- Healing of generational wounds
- Children to encounter God early and deeply
- Homes to become microsanctuaries
Prayer: “We declare our homes as places of peace, presence, and generational blessing.”
5. DISCERNMENT FOR MIXED SIGNALS
Growing in Spiritual Intelligence
The Church must learn to hear clearly in a noisy world.
Pray for:
- Clarity in hearing God’s voice
- Exposure of deception
- Wisdom in digital and media consumption
- Prophetic accuracy and humility
Prayer: “Holy Spirit, sharpen our senses. Let us see what You see.”
6. MISSION: LOCAL PRESENCE, GLOBAL IMPACT
Every Believer Sent
2026 will open unusual doors for influence.
Pray for:
- Creativity in evangelism
- Boldness in everyday conversations
- Revival in rural and overlooked regions
- Missionaries sent into business, government, education, arts
Prayer: “Lord, send us into the harvest with joy, power, and compassion.”
7. HOLINESS AS BEAUTIFUL DISTINCTIVENESS
Not legalism — radiance
Pray for:
- A renewed love for holiness
- Freedom from compromise
- Integrity in leadership
- A Church that looks like Jesus, not the culture
Prayer: “Set us apart in love, purity, and power.”
8. OUTPOURING & AWAKENING
Preparing for Fresh Moves of the Spirit
2026 carries potential for regional awakenings.
Pray for:
- Hunger for God’s presence
- Intercessors to rise
- Worship that breaks atmospheres
- Youth and young adults ignited
- Churches that host — not control — the move of God
Prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit. We make room for You.”
9. UNITY AS A MULTIPLIER OF POWER
Collaboration Across Denominations, Cultures, Generations
Pray for:
- Healing of old divisions
- Honor between generations
- Partnerships between churches
- Shared mission, not competition
Prayer: “Lord, make us one, so the world may believe.”
10. TIMES & SEASONS
Alignment With God’s Calendar
Pray for:
- Understanding of prophetic timings
- Grace to pivot quickly
- Sensitivity to divine opportunities
- Wisdom for resource stewardship
Prayer: “Lord, align us with Your timing. Let us not run ahead or lag behind.”
LEADERSHIP PRAYER POINTS FOR 2026
Drawn from your “Positions Church Online” document
Pray for Overseers:
- Purity in doctrine
- Vision guided by the Spirit
- Accountability and humility
Pray for Elders:
- Shepherding hearts
- Strength to care for the flock
- Wisdom in teaching and discipline
Pray for Deacons:
- Faithfulness in service
- Joy in practical ministry
- Grace to support the work of the church
Pray for Fivefold Ministers:
- Apostolic clarity
- Prophetic purity
- Evangelistic boldness
- Pastoral compassion
- Teaching accuracy
DAILY PRAYER DECLARATIONS FOR 2026
- “We humble ourselves before You.”
- “Cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- “Let Your Word dwell richly in us.”
- “Fill us with the knowledge of Your will.”
- “Make us fruitful in every good work.”
- “Renew the spirit of our minds.”
- “Knit the Body together in love.”
- “Strengthen every leader with patience and joy.”
- “Send laborers into the harvest.”
- “Let the whole Church walk in unity, holiness, and love.”
FINAL PRAYER FOR 2026
O Almighty and Eternal God, Through Jesus Christ You have revealed Your glory to all nations. Preserve the works of Your mercy. Strengthen Your Church across the earth. Keep us steadfast in faith, radiant in holiness, bold in witness, and united in love. May Your Spirit empower us to accomplish the mission of Christ with joy. Amen.