Unifying The United States Through Revival!
This is the fourth in a series of articles on keeping the United States of America strong, free and united! As I type this latest article, there are many threats to America from outside and even within its borders. I also know that America's enemies are using our own social media and social networking platforms against us. We must be able to disenthrall ourselves from the toxicity that has been injected with the express purpose of keeping We the People as polarized as possible.
According to Oxford Languages, revival is "an improvement in the condition or strength of something". For the past six months, I have been watching episodes of the wonderful series on the life of Jesus Christ called "The Chosen". Jesus chose to work with people who were either struggling a lot or who were going in a direction that was not good for them. In some ways, it was a form of an individual revival, because afterwards the person that was touched became stronger and their condition was much improved.
From a Christian standpoint, there have been many great revivals from Pentecost through the 1970s. In the United States, a tremendous period of revival took place from 1857 – 1860. It all started when Jeremiah Lanphier started a series of prayer meetings in Pennsylvania, New York and Washington, DC. In time, as many as 6,000 people each per location attended these meetings. By May, 50,000 people of New York's 800,000 had experienced revival. But, according to Charles Finney: "This winter of 1857–58 will be remembered as the time when a great revival prevailed. It swept across the land with such power that at the time it was estimated that not less than 50,000 conversions occurred weekly."
The revivals of the 1800s directly impacted social programs in a major way. The Second Great Awakening, which took place from 1790 – 1840 and the Third Great Awakening, which began in 1855 and ended in 1930 saw the rise of the Abolitionist Movement that helped to finally put an end to slavery in the United States at the end of the Civil War. These revivals also led to prison reform and better care for the disabled and mentally ill.
Outside of the spiritual changes in people, the revival of individuals led to a better society at the time. Many of these changes were started by women. Since the U.S. Constitution did not allow women to vote, they concentrated efforts into social reform through voluntary societies that they set up and participated in. In fact, the female-dominated groups not only powered the anti-slavery movement but also fueled the crusade for women's rights. A number of these women-led organizations are either still active to this day or have evolved into other, famous organizations. The American Bible Society is an example of one of these famous groups.
I have often heard the phrase "God bless the USA". One of the best ways that God can continue to bless the United States is for us to pray for revival. I could be wrong, but it has been a while since a major revival has spread like a fire across the Americas and around the world. Among other activities promoting unity, praying for revival is something that we should be doing individually every day. Why? Because lasting change starts from within us and then spreads outward. This change will make us better individuals, better family members, better friends, better neighbors, better workers and better citizens. In fact, it will make us better in almost every area of our lives. Finally, this transformation will also help unify us as a country and keep us strong and free!
Here are some great quotes on revival:
"When is revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep people asleep." Billy Sunday
"In revival, God is not concerned with filling empty churches. He is concerned about filling empty hearts." Leonard Ravenhill
"Study the history of revival. God has always sent revival in the darkest days. Oh, for a mighty, sweeping revival today!" Adrian Rogers
Until next time!
Anthony Cota
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