Continue the Journey
I’m a firm believer that prayer is essential for God’s Kingdom to advance. The work of building this kingdom started with Jesus and He continues that work today. God has chosen to invite us into partnership with Him. Prayer reminds us that ultimately God is working. Sometimes we can get caught up thinking that salvation is happening because of what we are doing. We need to remember that it is God who is working in the lives of others through us.
I’m on a journey to learn about how prayer was the catalyst to the revivals in American history. You can read my first blog in this series by clicking on this link: https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/36257672/posts/2174394182
My first blog was about the First Great Awakening. Now I’m moving onto the Second Great Awakening
Historical Background
The American Colonies had successfully won their independence from Great Britain. A nation was formed and the church was once again declining in membership, just like leading up to the First Great Awakening. Not only was it in decline, but John Marshal, chief Justice of the US Supreme court thought that the church was too far gone to be redeemed. At the same time crime increased.
Once again, like it was before the First Great Awakening, we have a society that has lost the way. We even have an opinion that the church couldn’t help. This was the atmosphere when the Second Great Awakening started. In some ways this revival was really a collection of smaller revivals across the country. Each had its leaders and differences, but they all had one thing in common, prayer.
Concert of Prayer
Concerts of Prayer started in England. It was a simple idea, gather people to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Revival started immediately in England after the Concert of Prayer movement started. Isaac Bacchus was a Baptist Minister and he saw the results of these Concert of Prayers in England. He made a call to prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit here in the United States. Bacchus gathered people in prayer for revival. Bacchus created a burden for prayer and believers prayed and they prayed together for revival and God did an amazing work.
The first Concert of Prayer in the United States was in January, 1795. Three years later, revivals were breaking out across the country. These prayers supported the ministry of Charles Finney. He was a famous preacher during this time. He would reason like a lawyer of the whys and hows of salvation. Finney and other preachers during this time helped people to openly accept Christ.
Today
Reading about the First Great Awakening I learned the importance of individual prayer and persistence in prayer. When I read about these Concert of Prayers it reminds me of the importance of Christians getting together to pray. It used to be that Wednesday night prayer meetings were well attended and changes were made in society for Christ because of these powerful and effective prayer meetings.
I think that Christians today have lost the importance of the value of corporate prayer. When I read Acts 1 I’m amazed how the Apostles spent time in prayer as they awaited the Holy Spirit to come. They prayed together as well as praying individually. When the Holy Spirit came, many people heard the Gospel proclaimed in their native tongue.
In my experience, I become alive when I pray with others and sometimes it easier for me. Jesus did say that when two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. There is power in gathering to pray for the lost. When you think of it, salvation is one thing that all Christians can agree on and gather together in unity. I get excited when I think about Christians from across denominations praying together,showing the world that there is one church and one Lord.
Find a Prayer Group
Thanks for taking the time to read this. My challenge to you is to find others to pray with. If you are part of a small group, suggest spending half hour in prayer at the start of time together. If a half hour is too long for you, do 15 minutes. The key is to spend time together in prayer. The amount of time doesn’t matter. If your congregation has a weekly prayer meeting, commit to attending either weekly, or 2 or 3 times a month.
If you live in Maine, consider connecting with the Main Prayer Strategy at mainprayerstrategy.org. This organization is leading interdenominational prayer meetings across the state. The Main Prayer Strategy is the real thing.
In the meantime, please pray, pray, and pray. Early and often for 13,000 new believers a year in Maine.
davetheprayerguy 