Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - May/94

Contributor - Walter Opmeer

Title - Renewal and the Renewal of Prayer in the Church

Topic - Renewal

A heart alive with God cannot be silent. It flows forth with praise, prayer and petition to God, and often in the same breath invites a new neighbour along into the same renewal of faith. Prayer that springs from the fountains of an awakened heart is one of the marks of the renewal of God's people. Renewal and prayer go hand in hand.

Renewal is both individual and corporate. In a simple way it refers to "times of refreshing" that come to us individually and as the Body of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19). Not just the refreshment that lasts for a few moments but that which makes a lasting impact on our lives. The book of Acts shows the incredible impact of these times of refreshing that God brought in the early Church.

Renewal impacts both our individual prayer lives and especially the corporate expression of prayer in the church. It is good for us to notice how much corporate prayer was a priority in lives of these early believers. So much so that it is one of the four characteristics that highlighted the devotion of these disciples. "They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).

The apostolic church itself was birthed in a corporate prayer meeting that had spilled into the streets and attracted some 3000 souls to join with them. They had been "joined together, constantly in praver: (Acts 1: 14). It seems that much of the goings on in the book occurred either on the way to a prayer meeting (Acts 3: 1 ff) or because of one (Acts 4:3 1 etc). Specific mention of prayer is made in most of the 28 chapters in this book of the Bible, and a lot of these references are of believers praying together.

A prayer for renewal.

Renewal, revival and awakening are all biblical metaphors traced back to various passages and prayers in the Bible. (See Romans 6:4; 8:2-1 1; Ephesians 1: 17ff, 3:14-19; 5:14). These ten-ns are often used to refer to the Holy Spirit's work of infusing spiritual life into the individual Christian, and renewing spiritual vitality in the church especially in outreach and evangelism.

In Ephesians 3:14-19 however there is a beautiful Trinitarian picture of God the Father's work of renewal in the life of the already converted believer. Paul starts by praying that we may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in our inner being. This power is not aimed at Spirit giftedness or at witness (as in Acts 1:8), but rather "that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith."

At the end of his prayer he prays that we may be filled with all the fullness of God (v9). We do not usually speak in these terms, but we know that God was pleased to have His fullness dwell in Christ (Col. 1: 19).

And so we have a trinitarian prayer for renewal in the life of the believer which we can regularly pray for ourselves and for one another. It can even be used in the corporate liturgy of the church, for instance as a prayer for those making confession of faith.

We may be tempted to emphasize any one part of this prayer. Christ's indwelling, often by evangelicals who want renewal; the Spirit's empowering by "revivalists"; or being filled with God's fullness by conservatives who want awakening or revitalization. If we fall into any one camp we can easily be come divisive. If we do not want to include every part of this prayer, we will be equally divisive, and out of balance.

Renewed prayer in recent church history.

Times of renewal and spiritual awakening in the history of the church have always been preceded and saturated with a renewed emphasis of prayer. The first Great Awakening that touched England, America and Europe in the 1720's and 30's had begun in the concerned prayers for a weakening church at the turn of the century. This was a time when the French philosopher Voltaire claimed that Christianity would be all but forgotten in thirty years time.

A Scottish Presbyterian minister by the name of John Erskin wrote a little booklet called "Pleading with the people of Scotland and elsewhere to unite in prayer for a revival of religion". In America, Jonathan Edwards wrote a letter in response to this little booklet and later expanded it into a booklet as well. He called it "A humble attempt to promote explicit agreement and visible union of all God's people in extraordinary prayer for the revival of religion and the advancement of Christ's Kingdom Times must have been bad for a title like that to be needed.

In Germany, Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf began a community of thirsty Reformed, Moravian and Catholic believers he called Hemihut ("the Lord's watch; Isaiah 62:6-7). Because of difficulties they faced in the first years they stared a round-the-clock prayer watch which the Moravians continued for one hundred years. When the 'times of refreshing' came in August 1727, the basis of the renewal was prayer.

The second Awakening began in the year 1800 all across the American Frontier. Out of it came almost all of the mission societies that are still at work today as well as the beginnings of public schools for children, and the abolition of slavery in England. All of this was done by a renewed Church, called first to prayer. A pastor in new England gave a plea for prayer for his denomination in 1794 and proposed that the first Monday of every month be set aside as a day of prayer. Ministers and denominations across the States adopted that call to prayer as their own and God answered in a mighty way.

Even more incredible was the prayer revival that took place in 1858-59 which started with a prayer meeting in the consistory room of the North Dutch Reformed Church in Manhattan, New York. Jeremiah Landfear advertised a noon hour prayer meeting to which only 6 people came the first week. The next week there were fourteen and the week later twenty-three. Then they started meeting everyday and soon they had to add another meeting at the Methodist Church nearby. When that one was filled they added Trinity Episcopal Church at Wall Street and Broadway. By February of 1859 every church and every public building in downtown New York city was filled.

Ten thousand people were being converted each week, and over one million were added to the church in those few years throughout North America and England. These were the days of Charles Hadden Spurgeon and D. L. Moody.

Another renewal movement documented by J. Edwin Orr occurred in 1904 and 1905.1 This twentieth century Evangelical Awakening was a worldwide movement. It also sprang up from little prayer meetings all over the world. Even its most prominent expression, the Welsh Revival, was stared in a prayer meeting of less than a handful of intercessors.

Churches in Wales were filled to overflowing for over two years as over 100,000 converts were added, a great majority of them remaining true over the years. Drunkenness was immediately cut in half, and many taverns went bankrupt. Crime was so diminished that judges were given white gloves to symbolize this. Police became unemployed in many districts unless they were part of the singing quartet groups visiting the churches.

In North America the major Protestant denominations grew by over 700,000 members in these two years. Even the R.C.A. grew by some 17,000 new member in the year of 1906 alone to a total of about 422,000 members!

Churches were affected all over Canada as well. Two teenage brothers converted during that time in Toronto were Dr. Ernest Gihnour Smith of the United Church of Canada, and Dr. Oswald J. Smith of the People Church. In Winnipeg, First Baptist church was packing 2000 people into its new sanctuary and turning as many away. Churches in Vancouver and Victoria were awakened as well.

In Portland Oregon for a time over 200 major stores signed an agreement to close between the hours of I 1:00 am and 2:00 p.m. to permit their customers to attend prayer meetings. In Atlantic City on the opposite coast it was claimed by the local ministerial that not more than 50 people remained unchurched in a population of 60,000.

A call to renewed prayer today.

There have been many good emphases in the Body of Christ in recent years in the area of corporate prayer. I believe that as we see these efforts increasing we have to recognize that this is the work of our God getting His people ready for more of His fullness.

Just a few years ago David Bryant repopularized the theme of 'Concerts of Prayer' in a book by that name. The Prayer Summit movement begun by Dr. Joe Aldrich of Multnoma Bible College and Biblical Seminary is having a tremendous impact in cities in Canada and the United States.

Last year 10 pastors and leaders from Vancouver were involved in this 3 day prayer retreat. Some 200 followed this up into a smaller half day of prayer earlier this year. Throughout the city, pastors are as never before linking together in weekly prayer cells, and congregations are coming together for half nights in prayer.

Here in Edmonton I notice more and more believers coming together for prayer daily in their churches, or pastors beginning to link up together just to pray for one another.

Besides some of the typical forms of praying together such as prayer cells, prayer chains, prayer vigils and half nights in prayer, there are some other efforts that are worthy of note. Prayer walks around a church or neighbourhood is one. Prayer evangelism is another in its various forms.

A street or neighbourhood can be targeted for specific intercession as the names and needs of the unchurched become known or sought out. Whole areas can also be canvassed jointly by area churches to solicit nothing but prayer concerns. As a recent issue of Life magazine has emphasized (March 1994), people are much more willing to be prayed for than to go to church.

Finally one of the most exciting Opportunities for corporate prayer this year will be the satellite-connected nation-wide prayer rally on October 1, 1994. There is a growing interest in a solemn call to repentance and prayer to be coordinated under the WHY Encounter ministry of Canadian Crusade for Christ in Ontario.

Two years ago, four ladies in Toronto began praying through their local phone book. Their vision culminated that year with 28,000 Christians rallying at the Skydome for a prayer meeting in which every name in the Toronto phone book was prayed for.

This year there will be seven cities in Canada that will be linked for a simultaneous satellite rally. Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax will be involved, and other cities are invited to join in with a one way hook up.

This would be one of the most exciting opportunities for explicit agreement and visible union of God's people in extraordinary prayer that Canada has ever had. A. T. Pierson has said "there has never been a spiritual awakening on any continent or locality without concerted united prayer." Matthew Henry has said, when God intends great mercy for His people He first of all sets them praying.

God has said "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land'. (2 Chronicles 7:14). We must pray, and God will answer.

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