It's been a most wonderful privilege to show the Book of Acts twice, in an exceedingly Bible Faculty in Wales, where the Revival of 1904 started, and to visit a number of the salient sites where the blessing of Almighty God was experienced in such an amazing manner. Most folks have heard of the Welsh Revival that started in 1904. It began as a movement of prayer.
Seth Joshua, the Presbyterian evangelist, came to Newcastle Emlyn School where a former coal miner, Evan Roberts aged twenty six, was studying for the ministry. The students were so moved that they asked if they might attend Joshua's next campaign nearby. So they cancelled categories to go to Blaenanerch where Seth Joshua prayed publicly, 'O God, bend us.'
Evan Roberts went forward where he prayed with nice agony, 'O God, bend me.' Upon his return he might not focus on his studies. He went to the principal of his faculty and explained, 'I keep hearing a voice that tells me I should go home and speak to our young individuals in my home church. Principal Phillips, is that the voice of the devil or the voice of the Spirit?'
Principal Phillips answered wisely, 'The devil never provides orders like that. You'll be able to have every week off.' So he went back home to Loughor and announced to the pastor, 'I've come back to preach.'
The pastor was not in the least convinced, however asked, 'How concerning speaking at the prayer meeting on Monday?'
He did not even let him speak to the prayer meeting, but told the praying individuals, 'Our young brother, Evan Roberts, feels he has a message for you if you care to wait.' Seventeen people waited behind, and were impressed with the directness of the young man's words.
Evan Roberts told his fellow members, 'I have a message for you from God.
* You want to confess any known sin to God and place any wrong done to others right.
* Second, you want to put away any doubtful habit.
* Third, you want to obey the Spirit promptly.
* Finally, you need to confess your religion in Christ publicly.'
By ten o'clock all seventeen had responded. The pastor was therefore pleased that he asked, 'How regarding your speaking at the mission service tomorrow night? Midweek service Wednesday night?'
He preached all week, and was asked to stay another week. Then the break came.
Suddenly the boring ecclesiastical columns in the Welsh papers modified: 'Great crowds of individuals drawn to Loughor.'
The main road between Llanelly and Swansea on that the church was situated was packed with people making an attempt to get into the church. Shopkeepers closed early to search out a place in the large church. Now the news was out. A reporter was sent down and he described vividly what he saw: a strange meeting which closed at 4.twenty five within the morning, and even then people didn't seem willing to travel home. There was a very British summary: 'I felt that this was no ordinary gathering.'
Next day, every grocery look in that industrial valley was emptied of groceries by people attending the meetings, and on Sunday every church was filled. The movement went sort of a tidal wave over Wales, in 5 months there being 100 thousand folks converted throughout the country. Five years later, Dr J. V. Morgan wrote a book to debunk the revival, his main criticism being that, of 100 thousand joining the churches in five months of excitement, after five years only seventy-five thousand still stood in the membership of these churches! The social impact was astounding. For instance, judges were presented with white gloves, not a case to attempt; no robberies, no burglaries, no rapes, no murders, and no embezzlements, nothing. District councils held emergency meetings to debate what to try and do with the police now that they were unemployed.
In one place the sergeant of police was sent for and asked, 'What do you do with your time?'
He replied, 'Before the revival, we have a tendency to had two main jobs, to stop crime and to regulate crowds, as at football games. Since the revival started there's practically no crime. So we tend to simply come with the crowds.' A councillor asked, 'What will that mean?' The sergeant replied, 'You know where the crowds are. They're packing out the churches.' 'However how does that have an effect on the police?'
He was told, 'We have seventeen police in our station, however we tend to have three quartets, and if any church desires a quartet to sing, they merely call the police station.'
Because the revival swept Wales, drunkenness was cut in half. There was a wave of bankruptcies, however nearly all taverns. There was even a slowdown within the mines, for therefore several Welsh coal miners were converted and stopped using bad language that the horses that dragged the coal trucks in the mines could not perceive what was being said to them.
That revival additionally affected sexual moral standards. I had discovered through the figures given by British government consultants that in Radnorshire and Merionethshire the illegitimate birth rate had
dropped 44% inside a year of the beginning of the revival.
The revival swept Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, North America, Australasia, Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Chile.
As continually, it began through a movement of prayer.
What do we mean by extraordinary prayer? We share normal prayer in regular worship services, before meals, and also the like. But when folks are found getting up at six within the morning to pray, or having a [*fr1] night of prayer till midnight, or forsaking their lunch time to pray at noonday prayer conferences, that is extraordinary prayer. It was united and concerted.
Author Resource:-
Doris Hill has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in True Crime, you can also check out his latest website about:
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