Revive Us Again

Phil Wickham's “Revive Us Again” is a prayer for spiritual awakening. It opens with what happens when God acts: “When You move, hearts awaken, broken lives will be redeemed.” The verse asks for heaven's reality here and now, “Let revival be released,” and the pre-chorus lifts a cry, “Hear our cry, heal our land.”

The song bases its hope on history. “What You've done before, You can do again.” The second verse addresses God as the “God of grace, God of salvation,” and admits the singers are “desperate on our knees,” asking him to “save this generation.” The chorus uses the picture of water on dry ground: “Like a river running through the barren land, let mercy flow, revive us again.” It also asks God to move in power and save “by Your mighty hand.” The closing lines repeat “Oh God, revive us again,” which turns the song into a corporate prayer a congregation can sustain. It is suited to services where people are praying for their city and for those who do not yet follow Christ.

A prayer to be revived so the people rejoice is Psalm 85:6. Asking God to repeat his work in our time is Habakkuk 3:2, and humble prayer that leads to healing the land is 2 Chronicles 7:14.