REFLECTIONS ON REVIVAL
There has been some debate in various circles about what actually took place at Asbury University and continues to spread around the country. Was it and is it a revival? Is it an awakening? Whatever you choose to call it, there has been and continues to be a genuine move of the Spirit of God on college and university campuses and in many local churches. This move of the Spirit is not limited to Christian schools. God is at work in secular schools as well. It is also not limited to the borders of the US.
There are stories from some of our churches where prayer meetings have lasted beyond the normal time to end. Other churches are planning special prayer events. Pastors and leaders across the country want to catch the wave of what the Spirit is doing.
There is obviously a great hunger for the Lord. More than 200 universities sent students to Asbury for a taste of what God was doing. People came from all over the world because of a deep hunger for the Lord.
Psalm 85:6 asks the question, “Will you not revive us again?” This is the cry that is being raised in so many venues. The second half of the verse reads, “that Your people may rejoice in you.” One of the marks of true revival is God’s people rejoicing in Him.
REVIVAL OBSERVED:
There was/is a deep hunger for God — “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” — Psalm 84:1. Thousands flooded the chapel on Asbury’s campus because of a hunger for God. No doubt there were some who went as spectators, but as one man confessed, “I went as a spectator but found myself confessing and seeking God.”
There was authentic worship — people were rejoicing in the Lord. The worship was not driven by the music. The singing was a natural response to the presence of the Lord. There was no playlist, no one encouraging people to sing. They simply sang and prayed and worshiped.
There was repentance — there seemed to be a steady flow of people bowing at the altar. There were people praying for each other in the aisles. There were testimonies of people coming to faith in Christ. There were believers who gave testimony to various ways in which they had failed to live faithfully for the Lord.
There was incredible peace — in Psalm 85, following the Psalmist’s plea for revival, he says, “I will hear what the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints.” It was obvious that God was speaking peace to those in that chapel. At a time when students deal with depression and suicidal ideation at a higher rate than ever, God was speaking peace.
The work continues — one of the marks of revival is that the work of the Lord continues fueled by the move of His Spirit. It appears that this was not just an event or a series of services. God is not done. It may be years before we know the full extent of the impact of what God began at Asbury. There are people in ministry today in the Missionary Church who were saved because of the 1970 revival at Asbury. They weren’t on campus at the time, but students left the campus and shared their stories.
Pray the winds of revival will continue to blow so that lives are changed and God’s people truly rejoice in Him, and we hear the voice of God speak peace into our lives.