Lenten Lessons from the Welsh Revival by J.John

Published: March 4th, 2009

Evan Roberts was a young man who prayed for revival for eleven years before he saw the fulfilment of it in his own church – Moriah Chapel – in 1904. Moriah Chapel was located in Loughor, in Wales. After asking his pastor for permission to hold a meeting for the young people in their fellowship, permission was granted and several turned up to hear Evan give his testimony. The next evening, more people turned up and God began to move in mighty ways.

Working in a coal mine at the age of twelve, Evan was continually witnessing to the men who worked with him in the mine. Every morning, he would arrive at the mine before the other workers so he could meet them at the entrance with a Scripture verse for them to meditate on during the day. At the end of the day, Evan would meet the workers as they came out of the mine asking them if the Lord had spoken anything to them regarding the Scripture given them in the morning.

Once the revival started at Moriah Chapel, coal miners were being converted and could frequently be heard singing hymns and praising God in the mine. As a result of the miners’ salvation experiences, the pit ponies (ponies that carried coal out of the mine in carts) no longer understood the commands of the miners because they were only used to obeying curse word commands. Since the coal miners no longer used bad language, the pit ponies were no longer responding to their commands! The coal mine owner was forced to buy new pit ponies so they could be trained to respond properly to the coal miners’ new language.

The effects of the revival were awesome. There was a dramatic decline in drunkenness and pubs were deserted each night while the churches were packed. The courts and prisons were deserted and many policemen found themselves without work. The sale of Bibles increased so dramatically that the printers were not able to print Bibles fast enough to keep up with the sales!

Meetings were held every night with large crowds attending every service. The services would go well into the early hours of the following morning. Evan was not known for preaching long sermons. Instead, he prayed and gave short exhortations, which brought down the glory of God. Many in the congregation would end up in what was called 'soul travail.' Men and women would cry out to God for mercy as the power of God would fall upon them. Others would shake under the power of God, while others fell out of their seats.

Often, after proceeding to the pulpit, all Evan could do was pray and weep for souls. His prayer, Bend us O Lord, was constantly heard as Evan cried out to God for souls and transformation. He would frequently preach on these four points:

1. Confess all known sin
2. Deal with and get rid of anything ‘doubtful’ in your life
3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly
4. Confess Christ publicly
   

Ash Wednesday ushers in Lent – a season to cleanse our lives. Lent is a time to be penitent for the past and to prepare for the future. So let us: confess all known sin; deal with and get rid of anything ‘doubtful’ in our lives; be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly; and confess Christ publicly.

J.John is a British evangelist who travels extensively in Britain and around the world, teaching the Christian faith, addressing over 300,000+ people in person each year, and many more through TV, Radio, books, CD's and DVD's. For more information about J.John, visit philotrust.com. 

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