Three hundred years ago our country was not the moral and spiritual giant that it ultimately became.
The churches in many places were languishing, formal, cold and dead.
The frontier was largely unevangelized, lawless and wild with few, if any, churches or preachers. Drunkenness and immorality abounded. In settled towns the young people were disinterested in spiritual matters and were drifting away from the influence of Christianity in great numbers.
Then, something amazing happened. Beginning with a little church in Massachusetts, a Spiritual Awakening began, first in the church there and then moving from town to town across New England and then the other colonies and ultimately around the world. The event was called the First Great Awakening.
Three hundred years later there are many who notice similarities between our day and those early days. The culture has moved drastically away from the spiritual and moral principles which once guided us. Neither the churches nor the government have shown themselves capable of reversing the moral and spiritual decline. In fact, some argue that they are part of the problem, not avenues of solution. We are in a true dilemma, a degenerating culture and leaders with no clue as to how to help us.
The impact of that first Awakening movement cannot really be fully comprehended even now. Similar outbreaks of Awakening occurred in England and Europe. Churches grew beyond their buildings and the establishment of new churches outgrew the supply of ministers. Fledgling universities that ultimately became our Ivy League establishments were pressed into duty to train needed ministers and young men committed themselves to the ministry by the droves.
In those communities massive changes occurred in family life, church life, and social life. Those who had previously been only nominally involved in the church became deeply committed Christians. Homes became places of Christian worship and Bible training for the children. The universities themselves saw powerful spiritual movements among their students. An entire generation was brought, in one way or another, under the influence of Christian morals and principles.
Missionaries were sent to the frontier to evangelize those who lived there and a number of men gave themselves to the task of carrying the Christian message to the native peoples. In all, not only America but the world was affected so powerfully that the spiritual impact of this Awakening endured for over 100 years. One might even argue that it is still with us in many ways today.
History has taught us that the Great Awakening was preceded by some seemingly insignificant but ultimately very powerful events. Groups of truly serious-minded Christians, seeing the great needs around them, had gathered for years prior to the Awakening in concerts (or ‘convocations’) of prayer. In some cases these people met and prayed on a regular basis for years that God might come and restore their culture, their churches, and their people. One group that began in this time frame committed to an around-the-clock prayer meeting with each person taking responsibility to pray for one hour of the day. This effort was so blessed by God that it continued without interruption for 100 years.
Believing that our only hope is another Awakening such as that one, and believing that God Himself is our Only Hope, a group of Mid-South Christians will be meeting in prayer Feb. 22-24 at Bridgetown Baptist Church in Nesbit, Miss., to appeal to our Creator in the name of His Son to come and rescue us from this moral and spiritual ruin. We will begin at noon each day and pray through the afternoon. In the evenings we will be ministered to from the Word of God and then we will close the day in prayer.
Those of us who plan to be there have reformed our theology to the same understandings of the gospel message as held by those great men of God from long ago. Now we are seeking to reform our practice of prayer to match theirs as well.
I have been asked what this would mean as benefit for our community. If God is pleased to hear and answer our prayers, every community visited by His Spirit would, I believe, experience the same benefits as those visited 300 years ago. The Christians and their churches would be powerfully renewed in their faith. Many would be converted to Christianity. Morality would be restored. And, maybe, just maybe, we could recover a generation of young people that it appears right now that we have lost.
There is no political or financial motive involved in the project. We are not meeting to support any political movements and we have nothing to sell. In fact, we have abandoned all hope in man and see our only possible rescue as coming from God Himself. If you are a serious-minded believer and see the needs that I have described, please remember us in prayer.
