Are you missing The Revival?

To “revive” something means to make it alive again. It infers that a thing has
previously been “vived,” if there were such a word.

Many are saying that the American Workplace is experiencing a revival as we speak.
Has there been a revival in the workplaces of America ever before?

In the 1850’s, America was prosperous and feeling little need for God. The embers
of previous Great Awakenings were starting to fade. We were no longer calling upon
God. We were too busy. Too affluent. Thousands of Americans were disillusioned with
Christianity. William Miller, a New England farmer, had captured nationwide
attention with his prediction that Christ would return on October 22nd, 1844. When
nothing happened, many abandoned their faith.

Then things began to change.

Secular and religious conditions combined to bring about a crash. A crash seems to
come about whenever we struggle with whether to worship God or mammon. Thousands of
merchants were forced to the wall as banks failed and railroads went into
bankruptcy. Factories were closed and vast numbers faced unemployment. New York
City alone had 30,000 idle men. In October 1857, the hearts of people were
thoroughly weaned from speculation and uncertain gain, while hunger and despair
stared them in the face.

On July1st, 1857, a quiet business man named Jeremiah Lanphier took up the daunting
appointment by the North Church of the Dutch Reformed denomination as a City
Missionary to downtown New York. The church was suffering from depleting membership
due to the exodus of the population from downtown to the better neighborhoods. The
new City Missionary was charged with visiting those in the immediate neighborhood.

Burdened by the assignment, Jeremiah Lanphier decided to invite others to join him
in a noonday prayer meeting to be held on Wednesdays, once a week. He stood on the
streets distributing a flyer which read:

HOW OFTEN SHALL I PRAY? (From J. Edwin Orr, The Light of the Nations pp. 103-105)

As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of
help; as often as I feel the power of temptation; as often as I am made sensible of
any spiritual declension or feel the aggression of a worldly spirit.

In prayer we leave the business of time for that of eternity, and intercourse with
men for intercourse with God.

A day Prayer Meeting is held every Wednesday, from 12 to 1 o’clock, in the
Consistory building in the rear of the North Dutch Church, corner of Fulton and
William Streets (entrance from Fulton and Ann Streets).

This meeting is intended to give merchants, mechanics, clerks, strangers, and
business men generally an opportunity to stop and call upon God amid the
perplexities incident to their respective avocations. It will continue for one
hour; but it is also designed for those who may find it inconvenient to remain more
than five or ten minutes, as well as for those who can spare the whole hour.

So, at twelve noon, September 23, 1857, Lanphier took his seat to await the
public’s response to his invitation. Five minutes went by… ten minutes. Still no
one came. Fifteen minutes passed and Lanphier was still alone.
Twenty-five…thirty…and then at 12.30, he heard a step on the staircase.
Finally, the first person appeared. Then another, and another, and another, until
six people were present and the prayer meeting began.

The following Wednesday, October 7th, there were forty intercessors.

In the first week of October 1857, it was decided to hold a meeting daily instead
of weekly.

Within six months, ten thousand business men were gathering daily for prayer in New
York, and within two years, a MILLION converts were added to America’s churches.

Undoubtedly the greatest revival in New York’s history was sweeping the city, and
it was of such an order as to make the whole nation curious. There was no
fanaticism, no hysteria, simply an incredible movement of the people to pray.

GOD WAS WORKING IN AMERICAN BUSINESS

This so-called “Layman’s Prayer Revival” was sweeping America and turning some
hardcore sinners to God. It  was called by this name because there were businessmen
- rather than ministers - who were leading.

America’s moral recovery was under way.

In 1858, in cities and small towns all over the nation, people were assembling
every night for prayer. In fact, you could travel by horse and buggy from Omaha,
Nebraska to Washington, D.C. and expect to find churches packed for prayer wherever
you might stop for the night.

In March 1958, a religious journal reported that “The large cities and towns from
Maine to California are sharing in this great and glorious work. There is hardly a
village or town to be found where ‘a special divine power’ does not appear
displayed.”

In Chicago, 2,000 men met at noon for prayer in Metropolitan Hall. In Jayne’s Hall
in Philadelphia, 4,000 were meeting.

In December of 185, in Utica, New York attendance at a weekly union prayer meeting
increased so rapidly that, by the third meeting, the main floor and the balcony of
the First Presbyterian Church were filled. It was decided that daily prayer
meetings should take place every morning.

One night, when Dr. John L. Giradeaux dismissed the prayer meeting at Anson Street
Presbyterian Church in Charleston, South Carolina, no one went home. The
congregation stayed until midnight. Eight weeks of nightly meetings followed
reaching crowds numbering from 1,500 to 2,000. Many turned to the Lord.

The New York Observer published a report from Waco, Texas of a mighty move of God.
“Day and night the church has been crowded during the meeting… Never before in
Texas have we seen a whole community so effectually under a religious influence …
thoroughly regenerated.”

The power of prayer touched every aspect of business. The Bible became the
standard. Any business that injured the community was regarded as wrong. People in
every kind of business began to be more honest, truthful and conscientious. Many
business leaders agreed to close their shops for one hour for prayer.

At least three thousand came to Christ in Newark, New Jersey. In many smaller towns
scarcely any unconverted people remained. In Haverhill, Mass., the Spirit deeply
moved the crowded daily prayer meeting. Sometimes half of the assembly silently
wept. One pastor found at least one person in every home in his congregation deeply
concerned about their relationship with God.

In March of 1858, the voices of prayer and praise to God was heard beginning at
8:30 every morning in the halls of the New York state capitol. Six people began a
prayer meeting for the Legislature. By the fifth day, two rooms were filled and
interest was growing.

In 1858 in Louisville, Kentucky 1,000 attended the daily union prayer. One writer
exclaimed, “The Spirit of God seems to be brooding over our city, and to have
produced an unusual degree of tenderness and solemnity in all classes.” An amazing
work of grace was changing the city.

Some of the leading business men of Boston were attending prayer meetings. An
unusual number of people who had lived wicked lives also came. One writer said,
“‘Publicans and sinners’ are awakened, and are entering the prayer meetings of
their own accord. Some of them manifest signs of sincere repentance.”

TODAY’S REVIVAL

Today, across the country, major-league executives are meeting for prayer
breakfasts and spiritual conferences. In Minneapolis, 150 business chiefs lunch
monthly at a private club to hear chief executives draw business solutions from the
Bible. In Boston, heavy hitters such as retired Raytheon Chairman and CEO Thomas L.
Phillips meet at an invitation-only prayer breakfast called First Tuesday, an
ecumenical affair long shrouded in secrecy. More publicly, Aetna International
(AET) Chairman Michael A. Stephen has spoken with Aetna employees about using
spirituality in their careers.

That’s not to mention the 10,000 Bible and prayer groups in workplaces that meet
regularly, according to the Fellowship for Companies for Christ International. Just
five years ago, there was only one conference on spirituality and the workplace;
now there are about 30. Academic endorsement is growing, too: The University of
Denver, the University of New Haven, and Minnesota’s University of St. Thomas have
opened research centers dedicated to the subject. The number of related books
hitting the store shelves each year has quadrupled since 1990, to 79 last year.

One of the positive aspects of globalization is the opportunity to go into all the
world and engage in business. In countries where missionaries are denied access and
“tentmakers” must remain isolated in compounds for foreigners, real businessmen can
pass through immigration and customs with a Bible in their briefcase and the Word
of God in their mouths and move freely within the culture.

Is America being revived? You betcha!

Are you missing it? Only YOU can answer that.

If you would be interested in meeting for prayer and Bible Study in your facility,
just ask!

Better yet, don’t wait on me Wait on the Lord!

It’s been said that “Prayer changes things.” Lord knows, it certainly changes US!

Every blessing,

“PastorMike” Workplace Chaplain 214.4728792

HEY, ERATH COUNTY… if you’re doing business in Erath County, join us Nov 12th at
United Coop, Noon to 12:45 for “His Church @ Work.” Lunch will be provided FREE by
La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant. Take advantage of this opportunity for Fellowship,
Prayer, Testimonies and Networking.

Please RSVP to Dr. Eddie Salyer of Salyer Chiropractic Clinic in Dublin,
EddieSalyer@hotmail.com. Let him know how many will be attending.

See ya there!

TEXAS HOUSE CHURCHES… if you’re within 300 miles of Stephenville, Texas, and have
anyone in your group who has a job or owns a business, you would benefit from: (A)
my Faith @ Work teaching and/or (B) starting your own “His Church @ Work” chapter
in YOUR community.

Just ask!