An Article of Faith

With little in the way of human planning, a nationwide revival broke out in America among God’s people in union prayer meetings beginning in 1857. In the awakening that followed, nearly one million people surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ in a single year.
The years leading up to 1857 were years of tremendous growth and prosperity for America. The population was booming. People and businesses were becoming wealthy. The cares of the world captured the minds and hearts of Americans, choking out their interest in God and His kingdom. Churches were declining in numbers, strength, and influence.
The growth of New York City began to force wealthy residents out of the downtown area. They were replaced by unchurched masses of common laborers. Many churches decided to move to “more fruitful” locations. In a state of decline, the North Dutch Church decided to stay and reach the lost masses around them with the Good News of Jesus Christ. They employed a businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier, as a lay missionary. He began to visit homes, distribute Bible and tracts, and advertise church services. Facing a discouraging response, he found comfort in prayer.
One day he prayed, “Lord, what will You have me do?” He sensed God’s leadership to begin a weekly prayer service for workers and business people to meet at the noon hour for communion with God. He began on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1857, with six people attending. The second week 20 attended, and 40 the third. The hunger and thirst for God were evident, and daily union prayer meetings were begun the fourth week. People of all classes of society and from every denomination attended.
God had a praying people in place when the financial crash of 1857 hit just weeks after the prayer meetings began. “When it [the crash] came, merchants by the thousands all over the country were forced to the wall, banks failed, and railroads went into bankruptcy.” In New York City alone 30,000 lost their jobs. Added to the financial crisis, the nation was gripped by the tensions over slavery. The future of the nation was bleak indeed.
In the midst of disaster and with a great hunger for God, people flooded the prayer meetings by the thousands. The meetings spread all over town and then across the nation. Businesses even closed to allow their employees time for prayer. The newspapers gave front-page coverage of revival news, and revival spread like wildfire across the country. Revival became the common topic of conversation. Special newspaper editions were printed to carry the revival news.
When the revival/awakening was at its peak, 50,000 people were converted to Christ every week. Within a year nearly one million people surrendered their lives to Christ.
This prayer revival, like so many other revivals, is an example of God’s pattern for revival and spiritual awakening. God began a work among His own people first, and as His people got right with Him, they got on mission with God to reach those without Christ: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

(Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.)