Lessons from the Scottish Revival 1948-52
House of Prayer, Carlow, Ireland- Prophetic Word – 7th June 2000
He is ready to gather the emeralds for His crown.
Understanding intercession and revival
Two of the greatest revivals in the 20th century were the Welsh and the Lewis/Hebridean revivals, both Celtic peoples.
Has God forgotten the Irish?
God loves the Irish!
Why has Satan laboured so hard to divide and destroy Ireland.
The spirit of Herod is still at work, trying to destroy that which is newly born in the body of Christ.
Will the coming Irish revival touch the whole earth?
Malachi 3
16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened,
and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the
LORD, and that thought upon his name.
17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him
that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
v17 The Welsh were the rubies, the Scots the sapphires.
God wants to gather his emeralds for his crown.
We must pray that these precious lost jewels will be found.
His jewel box is the Church of Jesus Christ.
God is putting us in remembrance of something about his character tonight and
wants us to remember the Lewis/Hebridean revival.
Pastor Sean Mullarkey recently told me of a prophecy he had heard that the Irish would no longer dance with their hands at their sides but would dance like the Scots with their hands in the air.
The Hebridean Revival 1948-52
The revival came back in those days on the Isle of Lewis - one of the islands of the Hebrides, just off the coast of Scotland.
The church elders met in Stornoway to discuss the sad state of the church.
Dead, dry and without much hope, some of the churches were about ready to close their doors. The young people were in the drinking places and the dance halls - they were not at all interested in spiritual things.
Seven men begin to change their world through prayer
As a result of the meeting, seven men and one of the elders decided to pray and seek God for
the Hebrides Isles. They met in an old barn by the side of the road. Three times a week they
met and prayed and sought the face of God. As they knelt in the straw of the old barn God
reminded them of a verse of scripture in
2 Chronicles 7:14 "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 will I hear from heaven and forgive
their sin and heal their land."
They began to pray according to this verse.
God is the Covenant Keeper
And then the Holy Spirit gave them a revelation - that He was a covenant-keeping God.
They realised that if they kept their end of the covenant i.e. to humble themselves and pray
and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways" then God was bound by His own
covenant to come and keep His end of the two-way promise - to "Hear from heaven and
forgive their sins and HEAL THEIR LAND."
They continued to pray day after day - keeping their faith strong and reminding God of His
word. They obeyed God and cleansed their hearts - and sought His face - and held on to the
covenant promise. They had no doubt that God would heal their land and visit the people of
the Hebrides.
Two elderly ladies change their world through prayer
At the same time, two elderly ladies, sisters, one of 82 and the other of 84 years, were also
praying continually in their cottage, for God to come in His power and visit their island.
Simultaneous glory
One night after five months, as the men were praying and travailing before God, suddenly the
barn was filled with the glory of God. At the same time, the little cottage where the sisters
were praying, was also filled with the glory of God - they knew that God had heard and that He was about to descend in power among them.
God is coming in two weeks
God instructed the sisters to write to Duncan Campbell, a well-known Keswick speaker- a
godly man of prayer. God revealed to the sisters that he was the man the Lord was calling to
preach during this visitation.
Duncan Campbell received the letter but replied that his itinerary was full, and that they should continue to pray and that he would come the following year. When the sisters heard this, they said, "Well God is coming in two weeks!"
They continued to pray, and Duncan Campbell s itinerary got cancelled - so he decided to go
instead to the Hebrides and be available to preach.
At 3am God swept into the cottage
The first night of the meetings in the church at Barvas, nothing much happened, but one of
the praying deacons said to Duncan Campbell, "Don't be discouraged, it is coming. I already
can hear heaven's chariot wheels. We will have another night of prayer and then we will see
what God is going to do."
About thirty went to a nearby cottage and continued to pray into the night.
At about 3am God swept into the cottage and about a dozen were laid prostrate on
the floor, unable to move. Something had happened! Revival had come!
As they left the cottage, they found the lights burning in every house as men and women were seeking God.
They found three men laying by the roadside under conviction of sin, crying out for God to
have mercy on them.
Converted before arriving at church
The events of the second night will never be forgotten by those were there!
Buses came from the four corners of the island. Seven men were being driven to the meeting in a butcher’s truck, when suddenly the Spirit fell on them in great conviction - they were all
converted before they reached the church.
As the preacher preached tremendous conviction swept down upon the people and tears fell down the faces of those present. So deep was the distress of some that their voices could be heard outside.
Under the burden of Intercession
The meeting finally ended, and people began to move outside. A young man began to pray
under a tremendous burden of intercession, He prayed for three quarters of an hour and as he prayed people gathered outside the church until there were twice as many outside as there had been inside. When he stopped praying, an elder gave out Psalm 132 and as the great congregation began to sing, the people streamed back into the church again and the meeting continued until 4am.
The moment people took their seats the Spirit of God in great conviction began to
sweep through the church and hardened sinners wept and confessed their sins.
At the police station
As the meeting was finally closing, a messenger hurried to the preacher, "Come with me!
There is a crowd of people outside the police station; they are weeping and in awful distress.
We do not know what is wrong with them, but they are calling for someone to come and pray
with them."
Describing the scene outside the police station the minister later declared, "Oh I saw a sight I
never thought possible. Something I shall never forget. Under a starlit sky, men, and women
were kneeling everywhere, by the roadside, outside the cottages, even behind the peat stacks,crying for God to have mercy on them!"
Six hundred people had been making their way to the church, when suddenly the spirit of God had fallen upon them in great conviction, causing them to fall to their knees in repentance.
Crying out against dead religion and standing on the promises of God.
Then the revival began to sweep into Arnol, another district where men had been praying and
crying out to God because of the deadness of religion. In desperation a little band of men
made their way to a farmhouse to plead the promises of God.
Just after midnight a young man rose and prayed a prayer that will never be forgotten by those present:
"Lord, you made a promise, are you going to fulfil it? We believe that you are a
covenant keeping God. Will you be true to your covenant? You have said that you will
pour waters upon him who is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground (Isaiah 44:3).
Lord, I know how these ministers stand in your presence, but if I know my own heart I know
where I stand, and I tell thee now that I am thirsty. Oh, I am thirsty for a manifestation of the
presence and power of God! And Lord, before I sit down, I want to tell you that your honour is
at stake!"
The House Shook!
Then came the answer - While the brother prayed the house shook like a leaf as God turned
loose His mighty power - the dishes rattled on the sideboard. The elder exclaimed, " An earth
tremor!" Then wave after wave of divine power swept throughout the farmhouse. -
Walking the streets under conviction
Simultaneously, the Spirit of God swept through the village. People could no longer sleep.
houses were lit all night; people walked the streets under conviction; people knelt by their
bedsides crying out to God to help them. As the praying men left the prayer meeting, the
preacher walked into a house for a glass of milk. He found the lady of the house, with seven
others down upon their knees crying for pardon.
48 hours to change all the youth and every young man
Within 48 hours the drinking house, usually crowded with the men of the village, was
closed.
Within 48 hours every young person between the ages of 12 and 20 had surrendered to Christ, and every young man between the ages of 18 and 35 could be found in
the prayer meetings.
Message for Ireland and beyond
God is looking for his intercessors for Ireland, and I believe that He has sent me here tonight
to tell you that it is you and to remind you about a covenant engagement; c.f. the Lewis revival.
He has promised to pour out his Spirit on the dry and thirsty ground.
You praying women should put God in remembrance of his covenant, humble yourselves and
repent, confess the sins of the nation, then he will come ...
Amen
Prayer
Further reading on the Lewis Revival:
The Lewis Awakening: The Nature of a God Sent Revival eBook : Campbell, Duncan, Publications, CrossReach: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store