Revival-Part 4

"Prayer is the key that unlocks the doors of heaven"

I have no idea who first made that statement. I grew up hearing it as a kid and I still believe it holds true today as well. Prayer is an important aspect to experiencing a mighty move of God.

One of my favorite stories from American church history comes out of the "Great American Revival" that occurred in the mid 1800's. Jeremiah Lanphier is credited for contributing to that great move of God. It is said that he was an unknown and obscure individual who had it laid upon his heart to pray that God would send renewal/revival to his country. After asking God "Lord what would you have me do for my country?" he felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to rent a room and put up an announcement that there would be a prayer meeting held there at such-and-such location every week at a certain hour.

History says that Jeremiah went there on the advertised date to pray and not a single person was there. So he began to pray. A half hour later two more showed up. Within an hour there were six praying with Jeremiah.

The second week came around and there were fifty people stop by to pray. Then it grew to one hundred. Others soon started other prayer meetings and before long there was hardly a street in New York City that was without a prayer meeting. Before long merchants were closing their shops in the middle of the day for prayer. People were offering up petitions everyday and God was on the move!

Then it happened... All of the sudden the Spirit of God fell on the people. They began to repent of sin and center their lives in Christ. Not one or two at a time, but hundreds! Soon it spread throughout the northern states and it is estimated that more than a quarter of a million centered their life in Christ in the span of three months.

Wow! These are real facts. Church history proves time and time again that God responds with mighty acts when His people pray. What God has done in the past should encourage us towards prayer today.

"Blessed are they that put their trust in the LORD" (Psalm 2:12). Be a PUSHY person this week... Pray Until Something Happens!

Thanks for stopping by...
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Adrian