One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the faithfulness of God. I write this to encourage you that He is faithful. If you have been praying long for revival, don’t grow weary. His timing is perfect. 

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Earlier this year, IFA published an article about pagan rituals that had been done in the past near rivers and other bodies of water across the country. I did some research and discovered that one such ritual had taken place in my own city in 2016. This happened at the River Walk, a tourist attraction that flows into the San Antonio River. The ritual involved placing a mandala (a cloth or paper graphic image dedicated to pagan deities) into the river. Prayers were offered up to some foreign god or gods to “protect” our city. In early March, I went to the San Antonio River and extended my hands and prayed, asking our Lord to heal our land and our waters, to break curses, and to reverse what the enemy had done. I then prayed a blessing over my city and besought the Lord for revival. This has been my prayer assignment for the city for over 10 years.

Now, one month later, we’ve been experiencing more rain than usual for Texas. I honestly hadn’t thought much about it until I saw the local news reports that the River Walk and surrounding areas had flooded. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but it turns out that God was all over it. He was answering prayers. The image of the River Walk’s flooding was significant to me, because that’s the exact location where the pagan ritual had been done. 

At the beginning of this year, a 20-year-old pastor named Santiago Robles was seeking the Lord. He was seeking God not for himself, but for his city and to pray for unity. Feeling stirred and inspired by the move of God we all witnessed at Asbury University, in Kentucky, Pastor Santiago felt this was a sign for taking action. On Sunday, Feb. 26, he and 30 others gathered at the San Antonio City Hall to pray and worship. They asked God to “flood the streets” with revival. That’s when San Antonio began seeing abundant rainfall — and this was not just some needed relief, but also a sign of confirmation that God was hearing the prayers of His people. Pastor Santiago and the church members decided to keep meeting every Sunday evening, for 12 weeks. During that time, members of other local churches joined those believers to pray for revival and unity.

Then, on May 20, a citywide gathering took place. The SA Flood the Streets prayer/march, as the event was called, saw some 25 pastors and roughly 800 people turn out, with at least 30 churches represented from across the state. The local news media showed up and covered the event, which saw people crying out publicly in repentance, prayer, worship, unity, and entreaties for God to bring revival to the city. It was such a blessing. Pastor Santiago said this: “Our idea was to flood the streets of our city with prayer and worship. We aren’t just praying for revival, we want to be the revival. We want to be the difference in our city. The gathering and the rain is speaking for itself. Even the local news are asking questions. They don’t understand why we are seeing so much rainfall, since it’s abnormal this time of year; But we know it’s both a physical and spiritual manifestation of the prayers. Change is happening here, and it’s happening through our worship.” 

The pastor added: “We have been so blessed to have city officials allow us to continue having prayer and worship here weekly. We know that they are limited to what they can say, but I believe they are allowing us to continue, because they realize the need for prayer and worship in our city.” 

At SA Flood the Streets, the Lord’s presence was made manifest as believers came together with one purpose: to worship, pray, unify, and march through the city exalting and proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ over San Antonio. 

When believers are in one accord, something happens. When prayer and worship are a continual offering unto the Lord, the atmosphere changes. When Jesus Christ is front and center, things cannot stay the same. These are ingredients for revival.

The disciples left the Mount of Olives and returned to Jerusalem, which was less than a mile away. Arriving there, they went into a large second-floor room to pray. Those present were Peter, John, Jacob, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, Jacob (the son of Alpheus), Simon (the zealot), Judas (the son of Jacob), and a number of women, including Mary, Jesus’ mother. His brothers were there as well. All of them were united in prayer, gripped with one passion, interceding night and day (Acts 1:12–14 TPT, emphasis ours).

The events of that passage take place after the Lord’s ascension. Most of us know what happens next, as described in Acts 2: There is a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit, the Church is born in new power, and revival hits the region. We must never stop believing that God can do that again. 

And God does nothing by accident. I just “happened” to stumble upon something spiritual involving a river in my city and whose power needed to be broken in Christ’s name. I had no idea that at that very same time and not very far away, God was raising up a young man to stir up a hunger in others for revival and unity in the city. People showed up in obedience to pray, to worship, and to prophesy over their city. Such boldness and faith will always catch God’s attention.

So what happens next?  

Well, as Pastor Santiago says: “It doesn’t end here. Flood the Street SA will continue to hold worship and prayer meetings in front of the City Hall at least once a month, and in 2024 our goal is to flood the streets in Austin, Texas.” 

This is only the beginning of what God wants to do. Scripture reminds us not to despise the day of small beginnings, because the Lord rejoices to see the work begin (see Zechariah 4:10). I’m reminded of Ezekiel’s vision about the river that flows from the temple of God. That flow went from ankle deep, to knee deep, to waist deep, and until it got so deep that the river was uncrossable (see Ezekiel 47:1–6).  I sense that that’s what’s happening in the spirit realm now. The rivers are rising! 

Having prayed for revival in my city for so long myself, I began to wonder if I’d missed it. But after being blessed to participate in SA Flood the Streets, I was reminded that God’s timing is perfect. 

One young pastor is compelled to take action, and what starts as a weekly time of prayer and worship rolls into months — and this shows no signs of ending. What began as ministry to the Lord in intercession for a city has spawned a movement. So, what do you suppose would happen if this were multiplied to other cities? 

Now is the time to rise up! Keep contending, keep worshiping, keep praying, and keep prophesying and declaring His promises — over your family, over your city, over the nation. Amen! God is not done yet! He is raising up His remnant for such a time as this.

How are you praying for your city? Let’s all share our prayers below, and let revival fire begin!

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: Canva.