Common Points of a True Revival

I have had the privilege of studying several distinct historic revivals of the last 150 years. While I cannot state that each and every revival will always have the following traits, they are present more often than not.

1. PRAYER IS A PREDECESSOR TO REVIVAL - It appears that when genuine revival does happen, it is preceded by a time of prayer which can last for months or several years.

2. REVIVAL HAPPENS IN TURBULENT TIMES - Concerning the 1857 Revival which started in New York City, the United States was being torn apart by the issue of slavery. It was also in the midst of a financial crisis which resulted in a stock market crash in October, 1857. The revival which happened in Korea a century ago happened in the midst of an occupying Japanese rule of the country.

3. DENOMINATIONAL GROUPS COOPERATE IN A SPIRIT OF UNITY - In the 1857 revival as well as the Korean Revival of 1907, groups which would typically not interact with each other did for the promotion of Christ, not their own causes.

4. SPIRITUAL "ENVY" OF REVIVAL IN OTHER PLACES - One phenomenal feature of the 1857 Revival was how news about how God poured out the blessing of revival in one nation caused Christians in other places to want revival and pray that God would bless them in the same way in their country.

I pray for revival in my country. Regardless of whoever would have won the U.S. Presidential election yesterday, my nation remains in desperate need of spiritual revival. Politics determines only the outer ordering of things. It does not touch the inner ordering of our hearts and minds. My nation is spiritually sick and desperately needs the hand of God upon it in revival. Otherwise, it will have the hand of God upon it in judgment.

A Deepening Interest in Prayer and Revival

Over the last six months, I've felt moved to devote more time to the practice and study of prayer. In our very unstable world, we have a desperate need for an authentic, that is, a truly biblical and stable Christian witness. Prayer is paramount for this to happen.

I've also been impressed with just how desperately my country and the western nations in general are in need of revival. In June, I was doing research for an article on revival which will appear in the journal Evangelical Review of Theology in early 2007. l was amazed at reading the accounts of the revival which started in New York City in 1857 and swept through the English speaking world of the time. The accounts of those who witnessed this (including major newspapers of the time such as the New York Times) point to how God honored a movement dedicated to prayer. May God do again in us and with us what He did with our English-speaking Christian forebearers of 150 years ago and move us to a true revival in Christ by His Holy Spirit and for His glory.

The picture included here is of the Old North Dutch Reformed Church where the revival started in New York City.