How do you define a true revival? I believe the instructions Jesus gave us in Matthew 28: 18-20 is the foundation for a revival. A pastor had a three day crusade last weekend and over 11,000 people made commitments to the Lord. His message was the good news of what Jesus did for us on the cross, turning our lives over to Jesus and belief in Jesus, repentance, and salvation. He spread the good news as Jesus instructed in Matthew 28 and then, the gift of the Holy Spirit took over and began to change lives. I would consider this a mini revival. I believe many in the church today are too focused on “spirituality” and who has the higher or highest level of spirituality compared to their fellow Christian. Many in the church today consider revival as a new place of depth or brokenness before the Lord for believers, or perhaps, a higher level of spirituality for believers than that already given by the gift of the Holy Spirit to a born again Christian.
I’m not big on man made revivals, no matter who’s involved. Statistics indicate that of those 11,000 who came forward at the event you mentioned over 80% will never set foot inside a church or have any ongoing exposure to God’s word. The Holy Spirit’s moves are spontaneous as witnessed in Acts 2 and people who are saved by Him stay saved. When we pray for revival, we’re asking the Holy Spirit to draw men and women to God, not for some high powered speaker to toy with people’s emotions for the sake of generating numbers.