by
Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Revival is
the engine of belief and faith. It breaks out without planning and in
unexpected places, carrying people to a more intense relationship
with God, one which strips away previous assumptions and defenses.
Over the
past two thousand years spontaneous outpourings of emotion, grief,
shame, and joy, have accompanied a renewal of faith and love which
strengthened communities and changed the lives of the individuals.
If a
psychologist described it they might see it as an emotional purging,
clearing the lines of communication from within the individual to
God.
Such an
event took place in Wales from 1904 – 1905, known still as the
Welsh Revival. The power of revival, the gift of God, was breaking
out in unexpected places across the small nation.
To the
staid and conventional congregants who walked into Bryn Seion Church
which gathered for church in Mount Seion that Sunday morning the
world was about to take fire.
As they
entered the church they were confronted by two young women, described
by David Matthews, the historian for the Welsh Revival, as “youthful
maidens.”
Instead of
following the long accepted practices of the church and announcing
the hymn to be sung they were asked in beseeching tones that those
entering surrender to, “the
leading of the Holy Spirit.”
Then, one
of the women burst into a spiritual song which expressed her own
experience of faith. As she sang tears streamed down her face. The
congregation gasped. Before she had finished, her companion joined
her.
All present
wondered at the meaning of this unexpected event. A young minister,
Evan Roberts, appeared in the pulpit, obviously moved with emotion.
He stood there, silent, his body shaking as he also cried.
A stillness
came upon them, described like the quiet which precedes an electric
storm.
The silence
was broken when one of the proudest, “members
of that assembly fell on her knees in agonizing prayer and confessed
her sins.” Those around her,
first confused, soon followed.
The service
continued all day, without a single break.
Soon, word
was carried throughout the neighborhood and others also came.
Revivals
throughout the 20th
Century have left people who were once
unsure of themselves and on the path to destruction renewed and
living different lives. During revivals all boundaries and broken and
new relationships forged in common love and fellowship so intense as
become a light forever after to those touched.
A Prayer for Revival
Dear Lord,
who knows me completely in every part of my being. Send to me,
to my church family and to my community the healing renewal of faith
which is the gift of the Holy Spirit and Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Show us the
power of your love and forgiveness. Grant us the will to more
fully embrace You in pureness of heart and singleness of purpose.
And this we
pray, humbly and wholly, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and
Redeemer.
Please pray
with us for revival as you prepare yourself for rest every Sunday
Night. We will also be praying for Revival at our Wednesday
Potluck in the Dining Hall at St. Peter Church.
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