The Revival of 1857-1858

In 1857 there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery. God raised up a praying businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier. On September 23, 1957 he began a noontime prayer meeting on Fulton Street in the financial district of Manhattan. Out of a city of 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late for the first prayer meeting.

The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14 present. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of business leaders meeting daily. God moved so powerfully that the prayer meeting spread across the nation. It is estimated that nearly 1 million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million. In New York City for a season, 10,000 people were trusting Christ for the first time every week.

Between 1860 and 1920, as answers to the prayer, the Evangelical Social Movement was birthed including the Bowery Mission, the McCauley Street Mission, Salvation Army (begun in London), and the Student Volunteer Movement. Between 1865 and 1900 more African Americans came to Christ than any other ethnic group in North American history. God’s grace is amazing!

Look at what can happen when average people are willing to take the time to come to daily prayer meetings. What might God do if the people of our church were willing to come to a prayer meeting once a week? Would you be willing to commit to coming faithfully to prayer meeting on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM?

Sometimes I hear people say, “What we need is revival.” If so, there is a lesson we can learn from the lay revival noted above. God answers prayer.

There are no revivals of which I know where God worked powerfully because the church stayed at home to rest, entertain themselves, or take care of important duties. I do know of powerful movements of God’s Spirit that have come in answer to persistent, fervent prayer of average people.

Praise the Lord for those who have faithfully prayed on behalf of us all week after week! Would you be willing to join their numbers this Wednesday?