The following quotes are taken from A History of the 1859 Ulster Revival, Volume 1.
The moment in this immediate neighborhood has assumed the startling character of unexpected and instantaneous ‘conversions,’ accompanied by the physical and spiritual operations of some overwhelming power upon the minds and bodies of the parties so converted…A spirit of genuine religion appeared to have fallen upon many of the people; and the work was regarded as the power of godliness upon the human heart. Men of irregular habits became suddenly and permanently changed; institutions for prayer were established throughout the parish, and very numerously attended; drunkards became peaceable, sober, and religious members of society; houses, once the habitations of wickedness, became sanctuaries of praise, and roofs that formerly echoed with sounds of obscenity, now cover altars of family worship, and resound with the anthems of the royal psalmist….
The word of ‘conversion,’ as it is called, here assumed the form of a supernatural intervention and miraculous agency. Men were suddenly ‘struck’ with an overwhelming and terrifying conviction of their sin and danger, and directly thrown into a state of intense bodily excitement, and mental phrenzy -in short, they became, as it were, ‘possessed.’ In this state the whole frame is shaken by some species of uncontrollable convulsion; every muscle quivers, and the entire nervous system is completely deranged. The party so affected feels impelled to by some irresistible influence to pray-and does pray, loudly, unceasingly, and with desperate earnestness-for pardon of sin and acceptance by the mercy of God through Jesus Christ. In this extraordinary agitation of mind and body, the penitent continues to struggle for an indefinite period-generally less than two days; and finally becomes impressed with a gladdening sense of peace and grace, quite as suddenly as he had previously been impressed with fear.
In revival things are different. This is to be expected in many ways, though when revival comes to a church the intensity and power of the presence of God takes prayer and worship to a different level. One pastor spoke of the Spirit coming to a group of people in a room praying while he was not present. When he went to the room and saw the people acting strangely, he rebuked them. But then the Spirit came while he was there and He saw that God changes things. When a soul is being worked on by the living God that there are bodily reactions and things don’t always go according to the rules manners of men. The presence of God shakes things up and changes things. We have biblical testimony to the fact that the soul must be strengthened by the Spirit so that Christ may dwell in it (Ephesians 3:16-17). Christ cannot dwell in a soul unless it is strengthened by supernatural power.
When this power comes upon a soul the body will display certain behaviors that are not in accordance with good manners and civil religion. But in true revival the overwhelming power of God is what comes upon the souls of human beings. Scripture tells us of all kinds of reactions to the presence of God as well. We have people falling on their faces as if dead. The sense of the holy brings sensations to the soul and body that leaves the body without strength. Daniel lay before an angel as if dead. In the book of Revelation we have John falling as if dead. When Jesus stilled the storm the disciples were even more afraid of Him than they were of the storm. Isaiah (ch 6) was in agony when he saw the Lord in the glory of His holiness. A holy God is terrifying to unholy souls.
When human beings come into the presence of holiness they see their sin and they cry out to God for forgiveness of sin and their prayers are real and are from souls with an inner fire. The desire to pray is irresistible because the inner fire is burning with a conviction of sin brought on by the Holy Spirit or by a joy so deep the body cannot handle it. A soul in the presence of a holy God must pray and it will pray. Souls in the presence of the fire of God don’t act the same way they do as when they are cold and hard. In revival prayer flows from souls with an intensity because they have an intense awareness of God. In revival the very entertainment of people is prayer. In times of coldness it is hard to pray and prayer meetings are sparsely attended. Do our churches desperately need hundreds of visitors? What we really need is for the Lord to give us hearts to pray so He will visit our churches. Revive us oh Lord!
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