Lord, Do It Again, Pt. 4

As we look at the topic of spiritual awakenings and revivals, today we explore the Second Great Awakening in the USA, 1792 - 1843.

Lord, Do It Again, Pt. 4

"Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?"

(Psalm 85:6)

As we look at the topic of spiritual awakenings and revivals, today we explore the Second Great Awakening in the USA. The dates I give for this are 1792 until 1843. In the 1790s, a letter went out from 23 ministers in New England calling for concerts of prayer for revival. It was received very well, and people started to pray. Revival began to break out on college campuses like Hampden-Sydney in Virginia and Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. In Kentucky, there were large crowds that gathered for Camp Meetings where men like Barton Stone and James McGready would preach. Many were saved. In 1801, in Cane Ridge, KY, 25,000 people gathered for revival.

The primary evangelist that God used during the SGA was an attorney-turned-pastor by the name of Charles Finney. He was born in 1792 and converted to Christ at age 29. After his conversion, he left practicing law and became a pastor. (I wrote my PhD dissertation on Finney's pastoral ministries.) Finney is best known for implementing new measures like protracted meetings and anxious benches. The anxious seats where people came forward to be counseled were the forerunner to the public invitation.

Most evangelicals today heavily critique some of Finney's theology. I likewise critique many points of his theology in my dissertation, however, I applaud the many ways God used him powerfully during the SGA. Finney wrote Lectures on Revival of Religion in 1835, in which he gives the following definition of revival: "Revival is the renewal of the first love of Christians, resulting in the awakening and conversion of sinners to God."

In this book, Finney writes that we can expect revival to come when the following things happen:

When the providence of God orders it and signals that it is at hand.
When sin is prevalent and very grievous to Christians.
When there is a spirit of prayer, when Christians pray as if they genuinely want revival.
When pastors make revival and awakening of sinners their chief goal.
When Christians confess their sins to each other.
When followers of Jesus are willing to sacrifice to carry on the revival.

As I reflect on these Great Awakenings, my heart is yearning for God to do it again. Would you join me in prayer for God to send revival to His church that results also in the conversion of those without Christ?