So good to see Pentecost so widely remembered last Sunday! It is so crucial that we never forget the paramount need of an outpouring of the Spirit for the growth of the Kingdom and the church of Jesus. It needs something more than just celebrating, however, if we are to see new Pentecosts in our midst. The 20th century began with two amazing outpourings of the Spirit in the shape of what we now call the Welsh Revival and the Azusa St. Pentecostal Revival. Akin to each other and feeding off each other they set the scene for a remarkable century of Pentecosts. Our sights must be firmly fixed on new Pentecosts bursting out in the 21st century.
The bottom line, the real starting point for such Pentecosts is always the same: a deep sense of spiritual need and a deep hunger for God to act in power. Pentecosts do not come to complacent churches. They come where people are genuinely grappling with their own spiritual limitations and inadequacies, where they are deeply concerned to see something more of the reality of Jesus and his power. When this is turned into prayer and intercession and where this prayer is persisted in then we find Pentecost returns.
No matter where you turn in revival history (and there is a lot of it now!) this is always the testimony. It was certainly the case with the Welsh Revival and the Azusa St Revival. Jesse Penn-Lewis (a contemporary of the Welsh revival) wrote about the “Hidden Springs of the Revival”, pointing to widespread meetings for prayer for several years before revival broke out; it was hungry prayer and prayer focussed of the need for God to manifest his presence. The same sort of hungry prayer was a feature of many Holiness churches before the events at Azusa St.
That it should be like this should be no surprise. The Day of Pentecost itself was preceded by ten days of earnest prayer by people who had heard Jesus make his promise about sending the Spirit and who were determined to “make a business of prayer” until the promise was fulfilled. The pattern was set then: it has never changed.
Equally important is the fact that Pentecosts are sustained by the same sort of hungry prayer. When the apostles felt they were in danger of losing their boldness they went straight to prayer (Acts 4:23ff). Revivals bring a great impetus to prayer, but if the Spirit is grieved or quenched by some kind of sin (particularly pride or quarrelling) then the flow dries up. So there's a need to watch and pray.
A most important moment in revival history is that moment when the Spirit stirs up in God’s people a deep spiritual hunger for Jesus. Incidentally there is nothing like reading revival accounts to create a spiritual hunger.
Bob
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The bottom line, the real starting point for such Pentecosts is always the same: a deep sense of spiritual need and a deep hunger for God to act in power. Pentecosts do not come to complacent churches. They come where people are genuinely grappling with their own spiritual limitations and inadequacies, where they are deeply concerned to see something more of the reality of Jesus and his power. When this is turned into prayer and intercession and where this prayer is persisted in then we find Pentecost returns.
No matter where you turn in revival history (and there is a lot of it now!) this is always the testimony. It was certainly the case with the Welsh Revival and the Azusa St Revival. Jesse Penn-Lewis (a contemporary of the Welsh revival) wrote about the “Hidden Springs of the Revival”, pointing to widespread meetings for prayer for several years before revival broke out; it was hungry prayer and prayer focussed of the need for God to manifest his presence. The same sort of hungry prayer was a feature of many Holiness churches before the events at Azusa St.
That it should be like this should be no surprise. The Day of Pentecost itself was preceded by ten days of earnest prayer by people who had heard Jesus make his promise about sending the Spirit and who were determined to “make a business of prayer” until the promise was fulfilled. The pattern was set then: it has never changed.
Equally important is the fact that Pentecosts are sustained by the same sort of hungry prayer. When the apostles felt they were in danger of losing their boldness they went straight to prayer (Acts 4:23ff). Revivals bring a great impetus to prayer, but if the Spirit is grieved or quenched by some kind of sin (particularly pride or quarrelling) then the flow dries up. So there's a need to watch and pray.
A most important moment in revival history is that moment when the Spirit stirs up in God’s people a deep spiritual hunger for Jesus. Incidentally there is nothing like reading revival accounts to create a spiritual hunger.
Bob
To make a comment: click on word “comments” below, write your comment in the white box which appears and add your name and e mail address (if you wish), choose “select profile”, click “anonymous” and then continue.
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