Reading the blog from this past Monday reminded me of one of the most awesome experiences of my life - that of the Wheaton Revival of 1995. Revival can begin with just one or two people praying, My husband taught evangelism at Wheaton College from 1990 to 1996 and beginning in 1994, he saw God begin to burden the hearts of people for revival. God led people to not just sit there, but to begin to pray for Him to come in power in their midst--and He answered that prayer in a wonderful and powerful way. Matthew Henry says: "When God intends a blessing or His people, He sets them a praying."
The prayers came to fruition on Sunday evening, March 19th at the World Christian Fellowship student-led gathering with a focus on world missions. Two students shared how God had moved mightily in the lives of many students at Howard Payne University in Texas. Afterwards, the student leader on Wheaton's campus cited Charles Finney's definition of revival "a new beginning of obedience to God...and I need that...and I think we all do." Students began to come to open microphones and confess sin; the service went until 6:00 a.m. with the plan to meet again the next night, and the next and the next and the next. what took place as students continued to share was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ in action. As Tim shares in his book, Accounts of a Campus Revival: "An overwhelming sense of God's holy presence protected us from an atmosphere of judgmentalism in the meeting...All of us present felt the weight of the words of the hymn, "It's not my brother, not my sister, but it's ME, O, Lord standing in the need of prayer."
As God told one of the students from Howard Payne, "I don't need your permission [to do a mighty work]; I need your submission." Let us all start praying that revival would begin with ourselves and that we would commit to radical obedience to God.
"If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (II Chron. 7:14)
The prayers came to fruition on Sunday evening, March 19th at the World Christian Fellowship student-led gathering with a focus on world missions. Two students shared how God had moved mightily in the lives of many students at Howard Payne University in Texas. Afterwards, the student leader on Wheaton's campus cited Charles Finney's definition of revival "a new beginning of obedience to God...and I need that...and I think we all do." Students began to come to open microphones and confess sin; the service went until 6:00 a.m. with the plan to meet again the next night, and the next and the next and the next. what took place as students continued to share was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ in action. As Tim shares in his book, Accounts of a Campus Revival: "An overwhelming sense of God's holy presence protected us from an atmosphere of judgmentalism in the meeting...All of us present felt the weight of the words of the hymn, "It's not my brother, not my sister, but it's ME, O, Lord standing in the need of prayer."
As God told one of the students from Howard Payne, "I don't need your permission [to do a mighty work]; I need your submission." Let us all start praying that revival would begin with ourselves and that we would commit to radical obedience to God.
"If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (II Chron. 7:14)
