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“God’s very best is His outpouring of mighty power to save, heal, deliver and set men free. We call it revival.”—Kenneth Copeland
Revival!… The battle cry of prayer warriors, the hallmark of change—the drawing of a nation back to God. Revival has been a mighty force in our nation’s heritage, influencing government, shaping destiny. Critical times in our nation’s history have sparked believers to hunger for the manifestation of God’s renewing presence through revival.
When our forefathers arrived on these shores, many were on fire for God with a passion to advance His kingdom. But as the years passed and new generations emerged, that zeal cooled and was replaced by a focus on economic advancement. Godless ideas began to take hold as the Age of Enlightenment swept first across Europe, then America. Church membership was still a requirement to vote in the colonies, so nonbelievers participated out of pure formality. Drunkenness and immorality became commonplace, particularly among the young.
America had begun a downhill slide. But God had a plan.
Early Stirrings
Into this cold, complacent atmosphere of 1720 America, Dutch Reformed minister, Theodore J. Frelinghuysen arrived.
Fervently preaching the necessity of a real commitment to Christ, Frelinghuysen saw many embrace the “good news” while others resisted change. But God was drawing people into the Church. Early embers of revival began to glow.
About 1735, Presbyterian minister William Tennent, disgusted with resistance from the Yale and Harvard administration toward the new evangelical fire spreading in the colonies, started his own Bible school in New Jersey in a log cabin, derisively known as the “log college.” Beginning with his four sons, Tennent trained preachers to take the revival to the colonies. Graduates of the school greatly influenced religion and education in America and were known for their “evangelical zeal.”
William Tennent’s son Gilbert became a major force in spreading revival across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Though charges of “emotionalism” and other accusations were leveled by the “Old Lights,” trying to stop the revival, the fire continued to spread.
Souls Flock to Jesus in Meetings
Around the same time—in 1734—God was pouring out His Spirit in another area. Conviction for sin swept through Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards’ Massachusetts congregation as young and old, rich and poor desperately cried out, “How can I be saved?”
Edwards wrote that souls came “by flocks” to Jesus. The town seemed filled with the presence of God.
Many were gloriously converted, abandoning their former sins. Talk turned to God’s kingdom alone. The tavern was left empty. The whole town was affected. Edwards noted “the surprising work of God” in his city and witnessed the revival’s spread to many other areas in Massachusetts.
By the mid 1700s the fire began falling in the meetings of another anointed man of God. George Whitefield, an already famous revivalist preacher in England, left his homeland with a burden for the colonies. His prayer was for these separate 13 colonies to become one nation under God. He began preaching in open areas. Thousands came from miles around to hear the Word and see God move. George Whitefield’s booming voice could reach as many as 30,000 people at a time and could be heard nearly a mile away!
An eye witness, Benjamin Franklin wrote in his autobiography of the change in Philadelphia’s inhabitants as a result of Whitefield’s meetings: “From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem’d as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro’ the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”
The revival became known as the First Great Awakening and soon spread to all the colonies. Churches overflowed in numbers and activity. A blaze of missionary and social programs was birthed. Christian love sparked concern for reaching the poor, the slave, the Native American and others. Orphanages and schools were established. Antislavery sentiment began to stir.
The revival fires of this Great Awakening changed colonial thinking, opening colonists’ eyes to view themselves as a whole, a body of believers—one nation under God. They were a covenant people chosen by God to be a light to the world. The plan of God was manifesting.
But the American Revolution 30 years later overshadowed everything and by 1775, revival fires had died down to a smolder. Still, during the war General George Washington encouraged his troops to attend church services and live moral, Christian lives.
Reawakenings
The fire seemed all but extinguished during the time of peace and prosperity following America’s victory. But by the 1790s, sparks once again appeared in the northeast.
In 1801, the fire fell again bringing more than 20,000 people to a dramatic camp meeting at Cane Ridge, Ky. The phenomenon was repeated in camp meetings across several states.
Revival continued to spread in the 1820s and 1830s at the meetings of fiery evangelist Charles Finney. Over 500,000 came to a saving knowledge of Jesus through this move of God.
By 1857, another war threatened. That same year Jeremiah Lanphier started a prayer meeting in New York City with six people. As the stock market crashed, banks failed and thousands lost their jobs, daily prayer meetings in cities across the country became packed.
Turning Back to God
When civil war finally gripped the nation in 1861, General Stonewall Jackson helped organize the Chaplain’s Association and along with General Robert E. Lee promoted revival among their troops. Abraham Lincoln also fervently sought God and enlisted the prayers of others.
Following the war, new life and new believers again flooded into the Church as the population turned to God.
In the mid-1800s and early 1900s, throngs turned out to hear evangelists Charles Finney, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday and others. Bars and theaters closed. Revival brought lasting change and spread beyond our shores to affect the world.
In the 1900s Azusa Street and the healing and Word revivals had a great impact, changing the complexion of the nation.
Today the spirit of revival continues as the Word is preached in faith-charged meetings and conventions worldwide.
Revival! Once again the embers are beginning to glow brightly as the battle cry is being sounded in prayer closets and meetings across the nation. Alarm over moral decay and fear of international terrorism is moving a collective consciousness to seek God amid the lull of prosperity and pleasurable pursuits. God has a plan.
“One nation under God” is not just a catchphrase—it’s His dream!
Courtesy of: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
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