| The Moravians
The Moravians, a refugee colony from Bohemia on the estates of Count Nicholas
von Zinzendorf at the village of Herrnhut in Germany, experienced a visitation
of God in 1727 which launched revival with 100 years of continuous prayer
and 100 missionaries sent out within 25 years.
On May 12th, 1727, they entered into a covenant together 'to dedicate their
lives to the service of the Lord Jesus.'..
A period of extraordinary prayer followed, which both preceded and followed
the outpouring. It started in early July of that year, but already, for
the best part of two years, there had been prayer and praise gatherings
in the homes of the people. In July they started to meet together more frequently..
Some spent whole nights in prayer..
At about noon on Sunday August 10th, 1727, the preacher at the morning service
felt himself overwhelmed by a wonderful and irresistible power of the Lord.
He sank down in the dust before God, and the whole congregation joined him
'in an ecstasy of feeling'. They continued until midnight engaged in prayer,
singing, weeping and supplication.
On Wednesday August 13th the church came together for a specially called
communion service. They were all dissatisfied with themselves. 'They had
quit judging each other because they had become convinced, each one, of
his lack of worth in the sight of God and each felt himself at this communion
to be in view of the Saviour.' They left that communion at noon, hardly
knowing whether they belonged to earth or had already gone to heaven. It
was a day of outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 'We saw the hand of God and
were all baptized with his Holy Spirit .. The Holy Ghost came upon us and
in those days great signs and wonders took place in our midst.
Scarcely a day passed from then on when they did not witness God's almighty
workings among them. A great hunger for God's word took hold of them. They
started meeting three times daily at 5 am, 7.30 am, and 9 pm. Self-love
and self-will and all disobedience disappeared, as everyone sought to let
the Holy Spirit have full control.
Two weeks later, they entered into the twenty four hour prayer covenant
which was to become such a feature of their life for over 100 years.. 'The
spirit of prayer and supplication at that time poured out upon the children
was so powerful and efficacious that it is impossible to give an adequate
description of it.' Supernatural knowledge and power was given to them.
Previously timid people became flaming evangelists. (Mills 1990:2045). The Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), the preacher and scholar who later became
a President of Princeton University, was a prominent leader in a revival
movement which came to be called the Great Awakening as it spread through
the communities of New England and the pioneering settlements in America.
Converts to Christianity reached 50,000 out of a total of 250,000 colonists.
The years of 173435 saw an unusually powerful move of God's Spirit in thousands
of people. Edwards described the characteristics of the revival as, first,
an extraordinary sense of the awful majesty, greatness and holiness of God,
and second, a great longing for humility before God and adoration of God.
Edwards published the journal of David Brainerd, a missionary to the North
American Indians from 1743 to his death at 29 in 1747. Brainerd tells of
revival breaking out among Indians in October 1745 when the power of God
seemed to come like a rushing mighty wind. The Indians were overwhelmed
by God. The revival had greatest impact when Brainerd emphasised the compassion
of the Saviour, the provisions of the gospel, and the free offer of divine
grace. Idolatry was abandoned, marriages repaired, drunkenness practically
disappeared, honesty and repayments of debts prevailed. Money once wasted
on excessive drinking was used for family and communal needs. Their communities
were filled with love.
The power of God seemed to descend on the assembly 'like a rushing mighty
wind' and with an astonishing energy bore all down before it. I stood amazed
at the influence that seized the audience almost universally and could compare
it to nothing more aptly than the irresistible force of a mighty torrent..
Almost all persons of all ages were bowed down with concern together and
scarce was able to withstand the shock of astonishing operation. (Pratney
1984: 15).
On November 20, he described the revival at Crossweeksung in his general
comments about that year, which had involved horse riding over 3,000 miles
to reach Indian tribes in New England: He notes that revivals have been
criticised as scaring people with hell and damnation, but this great awakening,
this surprising concern, was never excited by any harangues of terror, but
always appeared most remarkable when I insisted upon the compassions of
a dying Saviour, the plentiful provisions of the gospel, and the free offers
of divine grace to needy distressed sinners.
The effects of this work have likewise been very remarkable..
Their pagan notions and idolatrous practices seem to be entirely abandoned
in these parts. They are regulated and appear regularly disposed in the
affairs of marriage. They seem generally divorced from drunkenness .. although
before it was common for some or other of them to be drunk almost every
day.. A principle of honesty and justice appears in many of them, and they
seem concerned to discharge their old debts.. Their manner of living is
much more decent and comfortable than formerly, having now the benefit of
that money which they used to consume upon strong drink. Love seems to reign
among them, especially those who have given evidence of a saving change.
(Howard 1949, 239251).
In 1735, when the New England revival was strongest, George Whitefield in
England and Howell Harris in Wales were converted. Both were 21 and both
ignited revival fires, seeing thousands converted and communities changed.
By 1736 Harris began forming his converts into societies and by 1739 there
were nearly thirty such societies. Whitefield travelled extensively, visiting
John Wesley in Georgia in 1738, then ministering powerfully with Howell
Harris in Wales 1739 and with Jonathan Edwards in New England in 1740, all
in his early twenties.
Also in 1735, John Wesley went to Georgia. Whitefield sailed to Georgia
at Wesley's invitation early in 1738, but they returned to England because
Wesley was frustrated in his work. Then in May that year both John and Charles
Wesley were converted, Charles first, and three days later on 24th May John
found his heart strangely warmed in the meeting in Aldersgate Street when
he listened to a reading of the preface to Luther's commentary on Romans.
1739 saw astonishing expansion of revival in England. On 1st January the
Wesleys and Whitefield and four others from their former Holy Club at Oxford
in their students days, along with 60 others of whom many were Moravians,
met at Fetter Lane in London for prayer and a love feast. The Spirit of
God moved powerfully on them all. Many fell to the ground, resting in the
Spirit. The meeting went all night and they realised they had been empowered
in a fresh visitation from God.
On 1 January 1739 a remarkable love feast was held at Fetter Lane in London.
There the leaders of the Revival were welded into a fellowship of the Spirit
in a way similar to what had happened at Herrnhut in 1727. The Wesleys were
present, along with Whitefield and Benjamin Ingham, who was to become an
outstanding evangelist among the Moravians. 'About three in the morning,
as we were continuing instant in prayer,' John Wesley recorded in his Journal,
'the power of God came mightily upon us insomuch that many cried out for
exceeding joy and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered
a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of His majesty, we
broke out with one voice, 'We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to
be the Lord.' This Pentecost on New Year's Day confirmed that the Awakening
had come and launched the campaign of extensive evangelization which sprang
from it (Wood 1990:449).
Revival fire spread rapidly. In February 1739 Whitefield started preaching
to the Kingswood coal miners in the open fields with about 200 attending
in the south west of England near the Welsh border. By March 20,000 attended.
Whitefield invited Wesley to take over then and so in April Wesley began
his famous open air preaching (which continued for 50 years) with those
crowds at Kingswood. He returned to London in June reporting on the amazing
move of God's Spirit with many conversions and many people falling prostrate
under God's power a phenomenon which he never encouraged! Features of this
revival were enthusiastic singing, powerful preaching, and the gathering
of converts into small societies called weekly Class Meetings.
Revival caught fire in Scotland also. After returning from America in 1741,
Whitefield visited Glasgow. Two ministers in villages nearby invited him
to return in 1742 because revival had already begun in their area. Conversions
and prayer groups multiplied. Whitefield preached there at Cambuslang about
four miles from Glasgow.
The opening meetings on a Sunday saw the great crowds on the hill side gripped
with conviction, repentance and weeping more than he had seen elsewhere.
The next weekend 20,000 gathered on the Saturday and up to 50,000 on the
Sunday for the quarterly communion. The visit was charged with Pentecostal
power which even amazed Whitefield.
That Great Awakening in Great Britain and America, established the Methodists
with 140,000 members by the end of the century, and other churches and Christians
were renewed and empowered. It impacted the nation with social change and
created the climate for political reform.
Toward the end of the century revival fires burst again in England through
prayer groups spreading everywhere. On Christmas day 1781 in Cornwall intercessors
met to sing and pray from 3 am and God's Spirit moved on them. They prayed
until 9 am and regathered that Christmas evening. Throughout January and
February, the movement continued. By March 1782 they were praying until
midnight. The movement spread. Churches filled and denominations doubled,
tripled and quadrupled (Robinson 1992:9). By 1792, the year after John Wesley
died, this second great awakening swept Great Britain and was stirring America
and other countries.
In New England, Isaac Backus, a Baptist pastor, addressed an urgent plea
for prayer for revival to pastors of every Christian denomination in the
United States in 1794. The churches adopted the plan until America, like
Britain, was interlaced with a network of prayer meetings. They met on the
first Monday of each month to pray. It was not long before revival came.
James McGready, a Presbyterian minister in Kentucky, promoted the concert
of prayer every first Monday of the month, and urged his people to pray
for him at sunset on Saturday evening and sunrise Sunday morning. Revival
swept Kentucky in the summer of 1800. Eleven thousand people came to a communion
service.
That second great awakening produced the modern missionary movement and
it's societies, engendered support for Bible societies, saw the abolition
of slavery, and resulted in many social reforms. |