TWO OLD WOMEN and MIGHTY REVIVAL!!
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
by Duncan Campbell
There are two things that I would like to say in speaking about the
revival in the Hebrides. First, I would like to make it perfectly clear
that I did not bring revival to the Hebrides. It has grieved me beyond
words to hear people talk and write about the man who brought
revival to the Hebrides. My dear people, I didn't do that. Revival
was there before I ever set foot on the island. It began in a gracious
awareness of God sweeping through the parish of Barvas.
Then I would like to make it perfectly clear what I understand of
revival. When I speak of revival, I am not thinking of high-pressure
evangelism. I am not thinking of crusades or of special efforts
convened and organized by man. That is not in my mind at all.
Revival is something altogether different from evangelism on its
highest level. Revival is a moving of God in the community and
suddenly the community becomes God conscious before a word
is said by any man representing any special effort.
Now I am sure that you will be interested to know how, in November
1949, this gracious movement began on the island of Lewis. Two
old women, one of them 84 years of age and the other 82-one of
the stone blind, were greatly burdened because of the appalling
state of their own parish. It was true that not a single young person
attended public worship. Not a single young man or young woman
went to the church. They spent their day perhaps reading or walking
but the church was left out of the picture. And those two women
were greatly concerned and they made it a special matter of prayer.
A verse gripped them: "I will pour water on him that is thirsty and
floods upon the dry ground." They were so burdened that both of
them decided to spend so much time in prayer twice a week. On
Tuesday they got on their knees at 10 o'clock in the evening and
remained on their knees until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning--two
old women in a very humble cottage.
One night, one of the sisters had a vision. Now remember, in revival,
God works in wonderful ways. A vision came to one of them, and
in the vision she saw the church of her fathers crowded with young
people. Packed to the doors, and a strange minister standing in
the pulpit. And she was so impressed by the vision that she sent
for the parish minister. And of course he knowing the two sisters,
knowing that they were two women who knew God in a wonderful
way, he responded to their invitation and called at the cottage.
That morning, one of the sisters said to the minister, "You must
do something about it. And I would suggest that you call your
office bearers together and that you spend with us at least two
nights in prayer in the week... Well, that was what happened,
the minister called his office bearers together and seven of them
met in a barn to pray on Tuesday and on Friday. And the two old
women got on their knees and prayed with them.
Well that continued for some weeks--indeed, I believe almost a
month and a half. Until one night... one young man, a deacon in
the church, got up and read Psalm 24. "Who shall ascend the
hill of God? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that has clean
hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity
or sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing (not a blessing,
but the blessing) of the Lord." And then that young man closed h
is Bible. And looking down at the minister and the other office
bearers, he said this- "It seems to me to be so much humbug
to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting,
if we ourselves are not rightly related to God." And then he lifted
his two hands... and prayed, "God, are my hands clean? Is my
heart pure? " But he got no further. That young man fell to his
knees and then fell into a trance. Now don't ask me to explain
this because I can't. He fell into a trance and is now lying on
the floor of the barn. And in the words of the minister, at that
moment, he and his other office bearers were gripped by the
conviction that a God-sent revival must ever be related to holiness,
must ever be related to Godliness. Are my hands clean? Is my
heart pure? The man that God will trust with revival - that was the
conviction.
When that happened in the barn, the power of God swept into the
parish. And an awareness of God gripped the community such
as hadn't been known for over 100 years. An awareness of God -
that's revival, that's revival. And on the following day, the looms
were silent, little work was done on the farms as men and women
gave themselves to thinking on eternal things gripped by eternal realities.