Do It Again Lord!

New York City businessman Jeremiah Lanphier and six other men knelt in prayer during their lunchtime. Lanphier was concerned about the lack of spiritual interest in his city and nation.  The United States was in spiritual, political, and economic decline. Many people were disillusioned with spiritual things because of preachers who had repeatedly predicted the end of the world in the 1840's. Agitation over slavery was breeding political unrest, and civil war seemed near.  He knew they needed revival and prayer was the key.  He had rented a hall on Fulton Street and advertised for men to come and pray on their lunch breaks.  He was discouraged when only six showed up, but was reminded that Christ promised to be present when only two or three gathered in His name. They agreed to meet again next week.

The third week of the prayer meetings, forty participated and they asked for daily meetings. Within six months 10,000 people were gathering daily for prayer in New York City alone. Other cities experienced a renewed interest in prayer, too. In Chicago, the Metropolitan Theater was filled every day with 2000 praying people. In Louisville, several thousand came to the Masonic Temple for prayer each morning. 2,000 assembled for daily prayer in Cleveland and St. Louis churches were filled for months at a time. In many places tents were set up for prayer.

In 1858 the New York Tribune devoted an entire issue to news of the revival. News of the revival traveled west by telegraph. Lay people, not church leaders, led the meetings. Prayer, rather than preaching, was the main focus. The meetings themselves were informal -- any person might pray, speak, lead in a song, or give a word of testimony, with a five minute limit placed on each speaker.

Thus the small prayer meeting of Jeremy Lanphier led to the Third Great Awakening. Many of the thousands who died in the Civil War came to faith in Christ during the Prayer Revival. This was the first revival beginning in America with a worldwide impact. The revival spread to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Europe, South Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific islands.

This week our church is preparing for a revival conference and I am asking our men to lead the way.  Will you take some time to pray and fast over the next four days as we prepare for Sunday?  Will you lead out and bring your family to each of the conference sessions? Let us ask God to do it again, and let it start with us.

Shoulder to Shoulder,

Gregg