Above, a woman prays during the Northeast Oklahoma Festival With Franklin Graham, held in Tulsa. PHOTOGRAPH: GREG SCHNEIDER/©2003 BGEA

Prayer has been a hallmark of revivals through the years, and prayer move-ments in various places, coupled with the strong conviction that Godwants to bring revival, causes some to believe that God will soon reviveHis people again. For at least 10 years, Christians in New York City havebeen praying for revival, especially as the Billy Graham Crusade inFlushing Meadows Park approaches. And they are asking that as Godrenews His people, a fire of evangelism will be lit and will spread fromNew York to the rest of the nation—and the world. It is our prayer thatthe following articles about revival will prompt you to pray for anAwakening in your life, your city and your nation, as well as in New York.

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Who needs revival?Does the American Church really need revival? What

does God see as He looks at the American Church?Despite the glitz and glamour, does He also find waterlesspits (Zechariah 9:11)? Is there a sense that in spite of allour measurable activity, the Church generally is para-lyzed? Are we outwardly prosperous while being inwardlyweak and stagnant?

Research tells us that there is little difference betweenthe lifestyles of Christians and our society as a whole. Thesad part is that the living Christ Himself is marginalized;He is not glorified as the Supreme Lord of the Church.

If the American Church would spend time getting abetter picture of our true state—“wretched, pitiful, poor,blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17, NIV)—surely wewould run to Christ and ask the King of Glory to enterthe doors of our hearts afresh (Psalm 24). The picture ofChrist standing outside His churches is a haunting

image for any generation.If the Church is blind to its true spiri-

tual condition, then revival will simplybe viewed as a divine additive, given basi-cally to increase the effectiveness of ourministries instead of restoring the gloryof God in His Church.

But once we recognize how far we havefallen (Revelation 2:4-5) and again real-ize our covenant relationship andresponsibilities to God, then we willhumble ourselves, pray, seek His face andturn from our wicked ways. It is then thatwe learn that the road to revival is pavedwith contrite and broken hearts. Withsuch a people our God is pleased to dwell(Isaiah 57:15). Thankfully, there is noth-ing the Father is more willing to do thanto transform us, taking us into a deeperencounter with all that He is as our Saviorand Lord.

Revival is all aboutthe supremacy ofChrist

Pre-eminently, all true revival is about God bringingglory to His Son by the power of the Holy Spirit throughHis Church. Between His ascension and His consumma-tion, this is one of the most strategic activities of the HolySpirit. Corporate revival necessitates Trinitarian activity:Father-initiated, Spirit-driven, Son-centered.

Biblical revival is supremely Son-focused—it is utterlyChrist-dominated. Some of us call it a Christ-awakening. Ifany spiritual experience—whether called revival or some-thing else—diminishes, bypasses or leads people away fromChrist, it is not of God and holds no hope for any generation.

The first issue before us, then, is not to define the charac-teristics of revival. Rather, it is to comprehend more fully theChrist who is the Center and Circumference and theBeginning and End of corporate revival.

Fundamentally, revival is an awakening to all thatChrist already is. St. Irenaeus said: “Christ brought usevery newness by bringing us Himself.” In the same wayin revival, the Father does not make new things. Rather,

ould Wall Street be the launchingpoint for a full-scale revival in theChurch? Absolutely. In fact, that’sprecisely what happened almost150 years ago.

A business leader named JeremiahLanphier was burdened for the spir-itual condition of New York City. He

distributed flyers inviting others to join him for a noon-time prayer meeting for revival, in a building just a stone’sthrow from where the World Trade Center was construct-ed a century later. That first gathering in September 1857was the beginning of what church historians define as the“Third Great Awakening” in the United States. Within sixmonths, thousands of Christians in New York gatheredevery noon for an hour of prayer. Churches were filled forprayer seven days a week! Over the next 50 years, thismovement spread worldwide and produced phenomenaltransformations—both inside churches and across soci-

eties—as well as advances of the Gospel.It’s happening again! Just a few months ago in New York,

I gathered with 200 pastors for the 14th annual 48-hourPrayer Summit. We interceded for revival in our churches,for reconciliation among churches and races, for the refor-mation of New York and for reaching the lost. But therewas nothing surprising in this for New Yorkers. For 10years, nearly 100 churches have cooperated in “The Lord’sWatch,” a 24/7 prayer vigil seeking God for a Christ-awak-ening in New York that would make an impact on thenations. Furthermore, over the years we’ve seen tens ofthousands, from many Christian traditions and ethnici-ties, united in prayer rallies and in nationally broadcastConcerts of Prayer. All have one conviction: We have hopethat what God did in the 1800s, He is able, willing andready to do again.

There’s every reason why you should be filled with thesame confidence. God desires to pour out a Christ-awak-ening where you live as well.

Is There Hopefor Revival

in Our Time?by David Bryant

C

T H E R O A D T O R E V I V A L

P H O T O G R A P H : T R A V I S S T I L E S / C O N C E R T S O F P R A Y E R G R E A T E R N E W Y O R K

PRAYER FOR THE CITY:Pastors and church leadersgather atop the EmpireState Building to pray forNew York City in 2001.

tics of a previous revival in another generation. OurFather is always ready to glorify His Son in and throughHis people—above and beyond what we’ve known before.

• Keep the focus. Avoid the temptation to seek revivalrather than God Himself. Christians must engage fullythe heart of revival, which is the manifest presence ofGod’s Son. Never should a revival movement be allowedto become more testimony- or story-fed than Bible-fedand Jesus-focused.

• Take responsibility. Some see revival as a panacea, thusexcusing themselves from responsible obedience to Christin the day-to-day struggles of the Church and its missionto the world. We are called to faithfulness, regardless ofwhether God grants revival at a particular moment.

• Look beyond nationalism. Sometimes revival is pursuedas a last-ditch effort to salvage a whole nation when it is awork of God promised initially for the Church. Revival’simpact on a surrounding community or culture is sec-ondary. Our desire must be for God to get the greatestglory through the awakening of His people in whole newways to Christ and His Kingdom—even if the nation as a

whole rejects this gracious hope and undergoes subse-quent divine retribution, as happened to Jerusalem inA.D. 70—despite a revived Church in its midst.

Is revival necessary toadvance Christ’s Kingdom?

If by “necessary” we imply that Christians cannot obeyGod, preach the Gospel, pray and make disciples as ourLord commanded, then the answer is a resounding no!The Church clearly has known God’s blessings withoutrevival. But revivals remain desirable because they intensi-fy the display of God’s glory in the Gospel before a watch-ing world with saving effects. Revivals are not God’s onlymeans of advancing the Church, but they are a wonderfulmeans of blessing that should be sought by His people—especially when they have endured long periods of spiritu-al drought and lifelessness.

There is no reason whatsoever that individual believersmust remain in sin or live lives of frustration and spiritualdeadness. Every Christian should always confess sin, seekafter God with the whole heart, pray for the empowering ofthe Holy Spirit and implicitly trust Christ every day. As anyof us draws near to God, He promises to draw near to us.And when He does, we will experience much more of thepresence and fullness of our Redeemer—and in that sense,we will receive at least a foretaste of biblical revival in itstruest sense. nd: ©2005 DAVID BRYANT

David Bryant is founder of PROCLAIM HOPE!

This article is based in part on “An Urgent Appeal,” which

he helped draft (from the National Revival Network). His

latest book, “Christ Is All! A Joyful Manifesto on the

Supremacy of God’s Son” (New Providence Publishers,

2004), expands on the Appeal’s vision.

d e c i s i o n : june 2005 1110 d e c i s i o n : june 2005

He makes things new by reintroducing us to His Son,who stands at the epicenter of His renewing purposesamong the nations. In revival, God accelerates, intensi-fies, deepens and extends the newness that Christsecured for us by His Cross and Resurrection. At thesame time, our capacity to express this newness and tominister it to others increases. In revival, God invites theChurch into more of who Christ is, giving Him thesupremacy even as we invite Christ into more of who weare, giving Him the centrality.

But there is another hallmark that can be equally helpful.

The sovereignty of God ina Christ-awakening

Corporate revival comes from God alone. No human-designed formula can compel God to grant it. The Churchcannot plan it, stage it or organize it. It is not ours to create;it is ours to receive. It may be Church-obtained, but it is

Christ-attained. This is the distinguishing mark betweenrevival and a human-produced “revivalism.”

However, the Holy Spirit—the primary agent of revival—often chooses to work in grace through our prayers, Biblestudies, worship, fellowship, sacraments and daily obedi-ence. There may be nothing Christians can do to guaranteecorporate revival at any particular moment. But we canalways intensify our preparations for the wonderful gift ofGod, in keeping with our hope in His promises. Scriptureconnects God’s sovereignty with our cooperation like this:“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will doamazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5, NIV). Or as Jesussaid: “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom is at hand, repentand believe the good news” (Cf. Mark 1:15).

A f e w c au t ion s . . . Remember the following points when seeking God for

revival:• Resist fantasies. It is unhealthy to expect current outwork-

ings of corporate revival to mimic the specific characteris-

Perceive—Spiritual awakening comes as God’s Spirit

awakens believers to acknowledge not only that

revival is urgently needed but also that the promise

of revival is for them.

Prioritize—Be willing to say: “A primary hope for my

generation is a Christ-awakening, beginning in the

Church. Therefore, out of my commitment to the pre-

eminence of my Lord Jesus, I will give revival high

priority in all that I do for Him.”

Purify—In every revival, repentance must have prece-

dence. Everything in us and in our congregations that

disobeys the Holy Spirit—everything that is incompat-

ible with Christ Himself, who is the focus of revival—

must be confessed to the Father and put away.

Pray—Biblical and historical revivals reveal that

whenever God is ready to reawaken His people to

the glories of His Son, He stirs up prayer among

them. Today, all of us should rejoice in the

unprecedented prayer movement God has ignited

among many churches and communities across our

nation and world. We should do everything possi-

ble to strengthen the movement inside our own

congregations.

Proclaim—Since “faith comes by hearing,” any biblical

revival must be a Word-anchored revival. Therefore,

Christians should promote the biblical promises for

personal and corporate revival, of which there are

hundreds. They also should give reports of what God

has done and is doing in revival around the world.

And Christians should help one another envision

what a revival in our generation might look like

inside and outside the Church.

Prepare—Though biblical revival is pre-eminently a

corporate experience, each one of us must be

willing and ready to become the starting point

for a fresh work of God in His Church. We should

act as if we truly expect God to grant us this gra-

cious work of His Spirit. We should let our efforts

at discipleship equip and prepare us for greater

manifestations of Christ and His power in us and

through us.

Partner—The hope of promised revival requires a

new era of spiritual cooperation—among pastors,

leaders of prayer movements, denominational

leaders and others—as we stand together to seek

and to receive a God-given Christ-awakening for

our generation, and then as we serve it together

for His maximum glory in our nation and beyond.

Ph a s e s o f R e v i va l

T H E R O A D T O R E V I V A L

“There is nothing theFather is more will-ing to do than totransform us, takingus into a deeperencounter with allthat He is as ourSavior and Lord.”

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Abram was called to leave his old life and to go out with theLord to raise up a new posterity through which “all peopleson earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, NIV). Thus, hisdescendants were chosen to be God’s witnesses to thenations. His evangelistic strategy was to make them somorally different from the degenerate nations around themthat people, seeing their holy lifestyle, would want to followtheir Lord (Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 55:4-5).

It does not appear, however, that the people of Israelgrasped their responsibility. They seem to have been so occu-pied with their own interests that there was little compassionfor others. With the exception of Nineveh—and that only byGod’s overruling the reluctance of Jonah—there is no indi-cation of revival reaching any Gentile country.

Nevertheless, God keeps before His people the vision of acoming Kingdom in which His Messiah Son will reign overall nations (Daniel 7:13-14). He will not be defeated in Hispurpose for creation. A day will come when “the earth willbe filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as thewaters cover the sea”(Habakkuk 2:14, NIV). We may be surethat any activity that does not contribute to that destiny hasno enduring significance.

Old TestamentRevivals

Despite Israel’s insensitivity to evangelism,there was recurring revival-like activity through-out the Old Testament. These instances usuallyemerged in times of crisis when God’s peoplewere at their wits’ end.

These periods of refreshing from the presenceof the Lord were the high peaks of corporateworship in Israel. They served to bring into focusthe holiness that God wanted for His people.Though usually short-lived and lacking in depthamong the multitudes, the revivals kept alive theholiness intended for the chosen race throughwhom Immanuel would come and bring salva-tion to the world. (See sidebar on Page 14.)

Prelude to WorldRevival

In the fullness of time the promised Savior appeared. Notsurprisingly, His public ministry began in revival led byJohn the Baptist—the greatest revival that Israel hadknown in more than 400 years. Jesus was baptized, and thestage was set for a mighty world reformation.

Yet, incredible as it may seem, Jesus walked away. Themovement that began to gather around Him took a differ-ent course. Contrary to the pattern seen so often before, theSon of God did not seek the immediate superficial follow-ing of the masses. Rather, in His infinite understanding ofthe human problem, He concentrated His attention uponmaking disciples who would be the nucleus of a multiply-ing Church. Holiness, as in the Old Testament, dominatedthe call of revival in His ministry, but evangelism and dis-cipleship were given new emphasis.

Jesus’ method of training this vanguard was simply todraw learners around Himself. His teaching was incarnatedin His own servant lifestyle. As His disciples grew in self-confidence, He involved them in work suited to their gifts,and He checked to see how they were coming along. Afterseveral years together, He sent them out to replicate in prin-ciple what He had been doing with them—to make disci-

Revive UsAgain!Revival and the

Great Commissionby Robert E. Coleman

Alive to God“Will you not revive us again, that your people may

rejoice in you?” the Sons of Korah asked God in Psalm 85:6(NIV). The rhetorical question yearned for a positiveanswer. Their nation had become spiritually impotent: theironce-joyous fellowship with the Lord was gone. They need-ed to come alive to God.

“To come alive”—revival carries this meaning throughthe Bible. The word in the Old Testament comes from aroot meaning “to live.” The basic idea is the return of some-thing to its true nature and purpose, to the reason for its

existence. From this perspective, revival is the sovereignwork of God’s restoring His people to the holiness forwhich they were created and releasing them in the fullnessof the Spirit to do His will.

God made us with this capability so that we could knowHim and, in a relationship of love, enjoy Him forever.

To make His will known to the world, our ancestors in theGarden of Eden were told to increase in number, to “fill theearth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28, NIV). Though this com-mission was largely ignored in its spiritual application,God’s plan for humanity never changed.

God’s purpose came into bold manifestation when

Throughout the Bible we see instances in which God’s people have fallenaway from Him, followed by times when their hearts have been rekindledto pursuing holiness and to loving and obeying Him. In the NewTestament, evangelism and discipleship bring new meaning to revival—toGod’s people of that time, to us today and until the Lord returns.

T H E R O A D T O R E V I V A L

ONTO THE STREETS: Members of theBrooklyn Tabernacle evangelism team takeGod’s love to the streets of New York.

P H O T O G R A P H : G R E G S C H N E I D E R / © 2 0 0 4 B G E A

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T he Church’s first great revival occurredwhen 3,000 Jews came to Christ on the dayof Pentecost, likely on May 24, A.D. 33. Thatawesome beginning was a foretaste of whatwould happen time after time throughout

history. By the year 300 approximately 14 millioncalled themselves Christian, and by 500 the num-ber neared 40 million. Since the early 1700s, Godhas brought about a number of notable revivals.Here are some of them:

The (First) Great AwakeningIn the New World a series of revivals, known as

the Great Awakening, spread through theAmerican colonies between 1725 and 1760.Under preachers like Gilbert Tennent, JonathanEdwards and English evangelist GeorgeWhitefield, the revivals reached their peak from1740 to 1742. At the same time as the GreatAwakening in America was the Wesleyan revivalin England. At the time of John Wesley’s death in1791, Methodists numbered 79,000 in Englandand 40,000 in America.

The Second Great AwakeningAmerica’s next revival began in 1801 at the Cane Ridge

camp meeting in Kentucky, where as many as 3,000 wereconverted. The banner year for camp meetings was 1811,when approximately one-third of all Americans attendedone of them. By 1806 the Awakening had reachedWilliams College in Massachusetts. There, five studentsprayed during a thunderstorm in the shelter of a haystack,four of the five committing themselves to becoming mis-sionaries. The Haystack Prayer Meeting, as it came to becalled, was the beginning of the American foreign missionmovement.

The Prayer Meeting RevivalBeginning as a prayer meeting of six people on Fulton

Street in New York City in 1857, the Prayer Meeting Revivalspread quickly throughout the world. (See Page 8.) Overthe next two years, a million converts were added to

American churches and a million tochurches in England and Ireland.

The Welsh RevivalThe Welsh Revival began in 1904

under the preaching of Evan Roberts.Within two years, 100,000 convertswere added to the Welsh Church.More than 5 million came to Christ asthe revival spread throughout theworld. As part of this same outpour-ing of the Spirit, revival came in 1906to a mission led by William Seymourin a dilapidated building on AzusaStreet in Los Angeles. The AzusaStreet Revival was the formative eventof early Pentecostalism.

Modern-Day RevivalPerhaps the most remarkable revival has taken place in

China since the last missionaries left in 1953. In 1980 therewere 2 million Christian believers in China—and by 2000there were approximately 75 million. God chose to have themissionaries removed before the explosive growthoccurred, that He might receive the glory. nd: ©2005 BGEA

E. Michael and SharonRusten are co-authors of “The One

Year Book of Christian History.” Mike

came to Christ through the ministry of

Billy Graham.

ples and to teach them to do the same. Someday, all thenations will learn of Christ (Matthew 28:19). His GreatCommission closes with the promise “I am with youalways” (Matthew 28:20, NIV). The Spirit was alreadyactive in their lives glorifying Christ—but they were toexperience His presence and power in a more wonderfulway (Luke 24:49-53, Acts 1:8).

Fulfilling the GreatCommission

This began to unfold in the outpouring of the HolySpirit at Pentecost. It can be called the revival of Jesus. Forthree years He had been working for the day when His fol-lowers—taught by His example, redeemed by His bloodand assured by His Resurrection—would go out as Hiswitnesses to the world.

Evangelism became spontaneous. Without any exhorta-tion or training seminar, that entire Spirit-filled congrega-tion in the Upper Room moved into the streets and beganto declare the wonderful works of God. When a crowd gath-ered, Peter lifted up Jesus, and about 3,000 were converted

(Acts 2:5-41). More important, every day thereafter, others“were being saved” (Acts 2:47, NIV).

The Book of Acts reads like one long narrative ofPentecost. Nothing could stop the Church—not theanger of mobs or the irritations of daily trials. But likerivers at floodtide, the Christians went on their way,praising their Lord and scattering the seeds of the Gospel.Holiness in the Church, reflecting the character of God,overflowed in love.

The book closes abruptly by simply noting that teachingabout the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ con-tinues boldly. Revival goes on. And, indeed, whenever theChurch is alive, there will be no end until the GreatCommission is fulfilled and all nations, adorned in the beau-ty of holiness, are gathered by the throne of heaven to rejoicein God forever (Revelation 7:9).

Yes, the prayer of the Sons of Korah will be answered—and in a more glorious way than they evercould have imagined! nd: ©2005 BGEA

Robert E. Coleman is Distinguished

Professor of Discipleship and Evangelism at Gordon-

Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass.

Use your influence: Some of the kings of Israel and Judahused their authority to lead the people into worship ofthe one true God. These included David (2 Samuel 6:12-15), Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:41-50, 2 Chronicles 20:1-30) and Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:1-8, 2 Chronicles 29:1-31:21). As these leaders did, so we can help the peoplearound us—in our families, churches, Sunday schoolclasses, circles of friends and workplaces—to see theirneed to follow God alone.

Get rid of other “gods”: When Jacob’s family was in peril(Genesis 35:1-7), when Joshua led the conquest of thePromised Land (Joshua 24:14-27) and when Samuel servedat the close of the era of the judges (1 Samuel 7:2-9), thepeople did away with all their foreign gods. We, too, mustrid ourselves of anything—money, status, friends or any-thing else—that competes with God for our worship.

Obey all that God commands: During the giving of the Law atMount Sinai (Exodus 19:3-8, 24:3-7, 33:1-10, 35:20-29),the people made a firm commitment to obey everything thatGod commanded. So, too, we must examine our lives andsee if there are any areas where we are disobeying God. Wemust confess this sin and purpose to obey God completely.

Worship God sincerely: Early in Solomon’s reign, duringthe dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-10), thepeople knelt in reverent worship and gave thanks toGod. In the same way, if we expect God to work power-fully in us, we must be attuned to Him, praising Him forHis greatness, thanking Him for His goodness and givingfreely and generously to the work of God. It is God’s willthat we, too, freely give back to Him the time, talentsand resources He has granted us, to be used for theKingdom of Heaven.

What We Can Learn From Old Testament Revivals

Five Key Revivalsby E. Michael and Sharon Rusten

T H E R O A D T O R E V I V A L