The following quote is taken from A History of the 1859 Ulster Revival, Volume 1.
“It is always difficult, if not impossible, to trace the beginning of a movement of this nature. And perhaps it is well that it should be so, lest man might assume to himself the praise which belongs to God only…In the immediate neighbourhood of Kells is a school-house, where assembled every Friday evening, during the autumn of 1857, four men, comparatively young, who had a ‘Believers’ Fellowship Meeting’, their special object being prayer to God that He would bless their labours in connexion with the prayer-meetings and Sabbath-schools which they had organized. For some time there appeared no answer to their prayers; but, like the patriarch of old, they were determined to wrestle with the Almighty till He would bless them; and at length that God, who is ever the hearer and answerer of the supplications of His people, graciously vouchsafed to make manifest to them the fruits of the labours springing up around….A youth…the first that was brought to the saving knowledge of the grace of God. To him succeeded others, one by one, until they numbered by tens. At length so prosperous did it become, that in a short time in numbered its hundreds.”
There are some important points that should be burned into the souls of all who desire revival. One, it is impossible to trace the absolute beginning of a movement. We do not know the secret works of God and we do not know the secret prayers of others. All the praise of all prayer meetings, all conversions, and all revivals is to His glory alone. Two, prayer does not always seem successful especially in a day as ours. We want numerical or financial success and we want it now. But we must also pray for God to give us grace and determination in order to wrestle with Him until His blessings come down. Three, the hand of God began to work slowly in terms of man’s view. But this does not mean that if we see small beginnings that we are to stop praying. Four, these young men also worked to set up ways to get the Word of God to the people. Prayer and the Word of God must always go together.
In the fifth lecture of THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION in 1840 Robert S. Candlish supplies the following quote:
“Various agencies may be adopted in order to bring the word of God to bear on the souls of those whom it is intended to move. It may be directly taught and enforced, by reading and expounding, by preaching, by conference and meditation, by the catechizing of the young, by pressing it, in short, in every form of persuasion and of warning, on the hearts and consciences of all…Still in every case, if the effect produced is really divine, divine truth must be the immediate cause; and the word is that truth. Now, viewing the word of God, or the truth which it contains, as the great cause or instrument of every work of the Spirit, of every religious revival, it may be proper, I. To observe that it is in itself and instrument fit and adequate for the production of such and effect; and II. To consider how it may be best employed, directly, for that end. And, while we examine as inquirers the nature of this heavenly weapon, and the manner in which it may be most effectually wielded, may the Lord grant, that we may ourselves feel and submit to its power.”
When we combine the first quote (from the Ulster Revival) with this quote, we can see how prayer and the preaching and teaching of the Word of God go together. It is not that we are to pray and pray and do nothing else, but we are to pray and seek to preach and teach the Word of God which is His instrument and immediate cause of every religious revival. It is not that a simply lecture on the Bible is all that is needed, nor is simply some sporadic prayer meetings what is needed. What is needed is for men and women to begin to give themselves to God in prayer and the use of His Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures are to be used as a weapon because they are the sword of the Spirit. The Word of God is living and active and is very powerful to destroy fleshly fortresses. We will not see revival as long as we continue to use and trust in the wisdom of men by using fleshly ways and methods. God has given us the instruments, the methods, and the weapons to wage war in seeking revival. If we truly believe what He has written in the Scriptures, we will pray and we will seek to apply the pure Word of God. In one sense there is nothing else that we are to do. Let us repent of all of our busyness and give ourselves to prayer and the Word. That is precisely what the elders in Jerusalem did in Acts 6. If our entertainment does not become prayer and the Word, we will have nothing left to do but entertain the people with the world. Let us pray, but also let us preach.
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