我們討論復興這話題已有好一段日子，前幾天我們談到有些宗教人士並不認同復興出現時信徒的情緒反應，而今天，我們會探討有些人認為復興是不需要的，和無關痛癢的。我們看其中一人的理論。他說：「鼓勵大家相信復興，只會令他們在屬靈上感到不滿足；他們變成只專注為復興禱告（而這是很少發生的事），以致未能完成手上的事工。」我對這看法有點兒認同，因為這麼多年來，我也注意到有些基督徒常常大談復興即將來臨，但是逃避了基督徒日常生活上的責任。

多年前，我在威爾斯牧養教會，知道當時有一間教會的領袖認為他們應該取消其他一切活動，只在每天晚上舉行禱告會，直到神給他們的會眾賜下復興為止。當他們決定全情投入這個看似屬靈卻是錯誤的意念以後，就只能繼續下去。他們每天晚上的禱告會維持了一年之久，後來會友們紛紛感到厭倦和迷惑，禱告會才被迫終止。直到今天，那間教會的元氣仍然沒有恢復過來。

那教會由於對復興持有不平衡的觀念，而錯過了很多佈道和宣教的機會。他們以為得到引導，但是看不到每天晚上的禱告、等待復興的來臨，是一種沉溺的需求過於屬靈的渴望。當對復興的渴求變成一種沉迷，導致我們失去屬靈的平衡時，那就是問題所在了。

We look now at another argument advanced by those who see the issue of revival as unnecessary and irrelevant. It goes like this: "Encouraging people to believe for a revival serves only to make them spiritually discontent. They become so preoccupied with praying in a revival (which happens. only infrequently) that they fail to get on with the task at hand." I have some sympathy for this argument as I too have been concerned for years over those Christians who talk a lot about a coming revival but avoid the day-to-day responsibilities of Christian living.

Many years ago, when I was a minister in Wales, I knew a church whose leaders believed that they should cancel all their activities and hold a prayer meeting every evening of the week until God sent revival to their community. Once committed to this seemingly spiritual but rather misguided idea, they simply had to keep going. They continued holding prayer meetings every evening for over a year, after which the congregation were so tired and bewildered they were obliged to call a halt. The church has never recovered to this day.

Think of all the opportunities the church missed in evangelism and outreach because they had an unbalanced view of the subject of revival. They thought they were being guided, but they failed to see that their commitment to pray every evening until revival came was more an obsessive demand than a deep spiritual desire. When the issue of revival becomes an obsession that tips us off our spiritual balance then there is something seriously wrong.