Have you ever had one of those times where your faith feels empty and hollow?
Ever felt like your prayers are just bouncing off a brick wall?
Wondered why you’ve lost that passion to read God’s word?
Struggled to get yourself to Sunday services or small group?
As a pastor and author, I get to interact with thousands of people who share honestly with me about the struggles in their faith. So many people go through seasons where God feels distant and they struggle with what to do next.
That’s where Elevation Worship’s song, “When Wind Meets Fire,” comes in. The title song on the popular band’s newest album includes a prayer for revival and a deep longing for a fresh experience of God’s presence.
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“This is the moment when wind meets fire
Come on in
Our hearts are burning for fresh revival
Blow again”
The song echoes several significant passages of Scripture. The title references the language in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit falls on the upper room of Christ’s disciples.
“Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.“
The song reflects the insight of pastor and author, Jon Tyson. Tyson, a student of revival history, wrote, “God comes where he’s wanted.” Tyson’s summary of revival movements across the last couple hundred years is echoed in the attitude of Elevation Worship. Chris Brown, one of the leaders of the band, shared the following sentiment in an interview around the launch of the song.
“We want to be a people who are ready for and recognize the life-changing power that comes when God shows up. To invite Him into every area of our lives. And to recognize that we can’t so much as take a breath until He breathes on us.”
As amazing as the song and this attitude may sound, there are some seasons and environments where it is difficult to believe God can do this kind of work. For instance, I can remember sitting on a Sunday morning with a group of high school students as a volunteer Bible study leader. Myself a college student, I struggled to connect with my students and my attitude reflected a mindset that God wasn’t at work in that group.
It wasn’t until one Sunday when I hit a breaking point that I realized God was at work in my student’s hearts in ways that I didn’t see. I thought I was staring at boys who were hard-hearted towards God, when it actuality they were just looking for something honest and real.
That breakthrough morning in our group reminded me of a passage from Ezekiel 37 where the prophet has a vision from God of a valley of dry bones and a conversation with God about those bones.
“Then he asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones become living people again?’ ‘O Sovereign Lord,’ I replied, ‘you alone know the answer to that.’ Then he said to me, ‘Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!’”
If you’re feeling dry and dead spiritually, wondering if there is hope for you to experience the wind and fire of God again, then you’re exactly the person Chris Brown and Elevation Worship prayed for when they wrote this song.
In a video posted on the Elevation Worship Instagram page around the launch of the song, Brown shared, “So let’s pray as people listen to this album and hear these songs - that the wind of God would refresh them and that his fire would ignite their hearts to worship, their lungs would be filled with their praise.”
This song isn’t just intended to be another on a playlist on our phones or another option for worship leaders to choose on a Sunday morning. This song is an opportunity to encounter God in a transformational way. “When Wind Meets Fire” is intended to be a cry for revival and renewal in a human heart. If what you’e read here describes the longing of your soul, then why don’t you push play on this song already? Let the lyrics be the words of your prayer to God and may He meet you in your longing for fresh wind and fire!
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps people transform difficult circumstances into places where they can thrive. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona, and loves watching movies with his wife and three kids. You can begin Scott’s life-changing project, The 21 Day Gratitude Challenge, today.
