by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D.

This is the story of the Prayer Revival of 1857-58, also known as Businessman’s Revival, and how one man’s yes to partner with what God was doing in his generation led to a powerful revival where it was estimated that within a year, over 1 million people got saved.

On March 6, 1857, the Supreme court decided in the Dred Scott case that African Americans and their descendants could not be U.S. Citizens. This was big blow to our nation living up to its Biblical roots and foundations. This decision divided churches and eventually a Civil War came to the surface. But in this impending time before that took place, there was a stirring for revival in the land. Something was about to break open that no one could have imagined. In the wake of Charles Finney’s revivalism, a business man named Jeremiah Lanphier got converted at Finney’s Broadway Tabernacle in Manhattan, New York in 1842. After working in business for over twenty years, at age 49, Jeremiah got hired as a local missionary by the North Dutch Church on Fulton Street. He traded his big salary for one that was less than $1,000 a year.

God began to break Jeremiah’s heart for the lost while he evangelized. He saw that there was a great need for God in those days. Then one day, God gave him an inspired idea in how to reach the people. He decided to host a Wednesday prayer meeting for businessmen from 12:00-1:00pm. He passed out flyers and began to spread the word. He encouraged people to come for no matter how long they were able to pull away. Whether it was 5 minutes, 10, minutes, or more, he welcomed them all to come and engage in prayer with him.

The date was set for his first businessmen’s prayer meeting to be at noon on September 23, 1857. When the day came, he was ready to welcome the other businessmen for a time of prayer. At noon, no one showed up. Then 12:10, still no one. At 12:25pm, still no one. Nearly half way through his first prayer meeting, he may have felt like a failure, or maybe that he hadn’t heard God correctly. Who knows what may have been going through his mind after being vulnerable to follow what he felt was the leading of the Lord only to see that absolutely no one responded. He didn’t throw in the towel or give up quite yet though. He stood his ground and remained.

North Dutch Church Consistory Building

The six who joined him that first day

Then all of a sudden at 12:30pm, the first business man joined him for prayer, then another, and another until he had a total of six people join him the first day. That was enough for him to see there was a need for prayer and that God was on it. He didn’t despise the day of small beginnings but leaned into what God was doing. They planned another prayer meeting for the following Wednesday. This time twenty men came, then the following week forty. He had to move to a bigger room. Then on October 10, 1857 the stock market crashed. People lost everything in a matter of moments. Desperation for God increased. Soon these prayer meetings were not just weekly but daily. In a short time, there were crowds of up to 3,000 people joining the Fulton Street Prayer meeting. People from all different kinds if classes joined in.

There were specific guidelines in place for this prayer meeting that worked well during that time. They started promptly at 12:00pm and finished right at 1:00pm. They allowed people to come and go as they please so that it possible for everyone to join on their lunch break if possible. There was a sign posted that said, “Prayers and Exhortation not to exceed 5 minutes, in order to give all an opportunity. Not more than 2 consecutive prayers or exhortations. No controverted points discussed.” When I read that it made me dream of what a prayer meeting today could look like in the absence of agendas and politics.

Each meeting started with singing a hymn, then the leader read a Scripture, said a prayer and opened up the floor for prayer requests. Five minutes before 1:00pm, they sang another hymn and then the leader closed with a prayer of blessing over the people. The news of this prayer meeting spread, especially through the Newspapers at that time. One of the six to attend the first meeting was a 21 year old who had a passion to take the same fire for prayer to him hometown in Philadelphia. His first meeting had forty, then sixty, then 300, then 2,500. Then he had to get a tent to accommodate the incoming crowds. In just four months, over 150,000 had prayed in that tent.

This revival was made up of people from all different denominations. It was a lay person’s revival. This was a prayer meeting for souls, and within a year it is estimated that over 1 million people got saved.

What might happen again today when a few people set aside a little time each day, or even just an hour a week to pray together for the lost, for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit in our day?

Do not despise the day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). Most revivals and powerful moves of God that sweep the nation start in a small meeting with just a few. See the story of the Azusa Street Revival for another example of how God loves it when the few gather to pray and seek for more of the Holy Spirit together.

See also references:

A God'-sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir

Revival Born in a Prayer Meeting

or to explore The Azusa Street Revival

by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D.

For the past seven years, I have been a part of building a revival culture in an intentional worshiping community called Destiny House. Every Friday morning, we opened our doors for a worship encounter time and essentially hosted a house church together. Because this has been such a huge part of my life, many might think I would naturally lean toward the deconstruction of the formal church structure and move away from anything “organized” or institutionalized. However, from personal experience of being committed to the wider church at the same time and a recent epiphany when reading the book of Acts, I cannot say that house church is the only way forward, though I do believe it is essential and will play an important role for where God is taking us next. We all are the church and that can come in lots of different shapes and sizes (1 Peter 2:5). Ultimately, the kingdom of God is all about family, however that might look in our day.

I have friends who lead churches, movements, and even stadium events that I fully believe in, support, and have participated in. Because of these things, while I tend to overemphasize the smaller more intimate spaces of connection, I also believe there is something important about the larger gatherings, whether that be weekly celebrations with the wider body of Christ or even stadium events to go after mass evangelism. As we continue together on this journey of reframing what the church can look like in our generation, please note that this article is an invitation into my current thought process which is still being shaped. I am also not trying to define what church is here but may attempt that another time. I look forward to the dialogue that will come.

Since we are all members of the Body of Christ, it is important we stay connected to Him and to each other, so we can fulfill His purposes on the earth (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). Each one of us plays a special role in what God is doing in our generation. We need each other to be able to step into the fulness of our destinies (Ephesians 3:20). Both church gatherings with the entire community coming together and cultivating revival in family around God’s presence in smaller settings can go side by side to strengthen our connection as the Body of Christ.

During an in-depth study in the book of Acts, some Scriptures stood out for me that demonstrate the value for both larger formal gatherings with corporate direction and the more spontaneous organic ones that take place in smaller settings (this is a generalization). After Pentecost when many were added to the church, to continue to steward the fire they had just received, the Christians in the early church

Continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

A little later in Acts 5, Peter and the other apostles were imprisoned, beaten, and told to be silent for their faith. They left that persecution rejoicing for being found worthy to co-suffer for the sake of Christ. Right after this in Acts 5:42 it says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

The apostles in the book of Acts gathered in the temple, or what we might call a more organized place of worship or church, to proclaim the gospel and they also met in private homes to disciple the new converts. They realized the importance of meeting together in the wider corporate meetings to teach the truth and share vision and also saw significance in nurturing the newer believers in the smaller setting of a home. The rhythm of the Christian life in the early church was not either larger gatherings or house meetings for connection in the midst of the move of God, it was both and more.  

Acts provides us with a paradigm for healthy growth and discipleship within the Body of Christ. Wider church celebrations are just one leg of building healthy community. The other leg is meeting together in smaller groups in the intimate space of the home or other place. Location is not important. Connection is, no matter how that might look. Having a balance of both corporate times to be together to worship as well as making time to connect in smaller groups so that each one is fully known, can be important elements in spiritual growth. It is easy to go to a weekend celebration service and hide in the back. But in a smaller setting, each person has the opportunity to be seen and loved at a deeper level. And at the same time, if one only shows up at a house church that is in isolation from the wider body of Christ, it has the potential to become ingrown and get weird.

If we were to lean heavily or only on one of these legs, either the larger church gatherings or the smaller homegroup meetings, there would be an imbalance, and something would still be missing. It’s hard to run with only one leg. It’s not a question of either big church or small group house meeting, but it’s a both/and more opportunity to be walking, and running, in the fullness of what God intended for us as the Body of Christ. God is always moving. We need two legs to swiftly run after Him.

In this dialogue of exploring what it looks like to become the Body of Christ in the fullest measure, I pray that God surrounds you with your people to run with in this season. May you discover your tribe within a tribe so that you can grow into the full maturity of all that God has destined for you.

*To dive a bit deeper into learning how to find your tribe and also developing rhythms of doing life together, see blog entitled Finding Your Tribe.

**To learn more about our rhythm of doing life together at Destiny House go here or get access to the Walking on Water E-course that goes into great depth with several sessions exclusively about our story and community life there.

by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D.

When we create space for God to move, He always does. It’s wonderful. People get touched, healed, and marked by His love. And then there’s those times when we get caught up into a momentum that is so much bigger than anyone could imagine. That’s when we see a move of God take place where all we want to do is stay out of the way so we don’t hinder what God is doing. Well, this weekend in Fredericksburg, Virginia we experienced all of these scenarios. God moved in a special way when we created space for Him to move and we also experienced a tangible move of God. I give a brief overview and then highlight the youth meeting in detail below. Enjoy the ride!

Friday Encounter Revival Night

The Friday night Revival meeting was so tender as we cultivated space to simply be in His presence together. Kim Hager was leading worship during the encounter and ministry time as seen in photo above. To access some of her music go HERE.

Writing in the Glory Workshop

On Saturday during the impartation time in the Writing in the Glory workshop, God crashed in and marked people with His power and unlocked their voices. We also had our youngest graduate who was a two month old baby named Revival join us! I am literally carrying Revival in that picture!!!

Focus

In the Sunday morning church service, I shared from my recent transition the need to throw off everything that hinders, even the good things, and run the race with endurance keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). Here’s a 2 minute clip to encourage you below to step into the gold God has for you in this season.

I Give You My Yes

Then on Sunday night with the youth group, we experienced a unique move of God unfold before our very eyes.

Immediately following the meeting that evening at 11:54 pm on March 31, 2019, I wrote the following account:

I just left the prayer room tonight at 11pm. I went there at 6pm for a youth meeting, my last event after a packed weekend of a revival encounter night, writing in the glory workshop, and preaching at church this morning. To be honest, I was pretty tired and had no idea what I was going to share this evening. I was grateful to get time in God’s presence in worship to hear His agenda for the night. It was during that time that I began to get downloads for the evening.

Then after worship, I did something I’ve never really done before in a meeting. At the very beginning of my talk, I gathered all of the youth up to the front and then invited them to sit down as if we were encircling around a camp fire, except we were going to camp around God’s presence and I was going to tell Holy Ghost stories. I started by sharing about the Welsh Revival and how it was really catalyzed by a teenage girl named Florrie Evans who, in her youth group, boldly declared that she loved Jesus with all her heart. This declaration of love lit a flame which spread to Evan Roberts who eventually stewarded and led the revival that in only 4 months brought in over 100,000 salvations.

Then I shared a little bit about the Azusa Street Revival and what happened when a handful of people gathered together in a home with their only agenda to encounter God. Revival broke out from that little house on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles in 1906 and has impacted us generations later. I shared briefly about Pandita Ramabai in India and the revival that broke out at her orphanage. When the children were praying and going after God one night, what appeared to be fire rested on one of the girls and it looked so real that another girl got a bucket of water and was about to throw it on her until she realized that it was the fire of God. (I found out later that this youth group had experienced something similar on their youth retreat not long before). I next shared my Miracle Flight story and how one yes can lead to another yes and can actually have ripple effects beyond what we could even see.

After encouraging them to all stand and put out their hands to receive, I prayed for a fresh baptism of the Spirit and fire. Then after God was touching them, I felt to create space for the youth to share anything they felt was a corporate word of encouragement for the group. A few shared their hearts and what God had shown them which was so good. Then I felt there was a guy supposed to share, especially since all of those who came up were girls. After a while when no one came up, a girl came up with tears in her eyes to share and encourage people to give God even their weak yes (thank God she didn’t let the barrier of not fitting the description hold her back from releasing what God was burdening on her heart to release). This was the Holy Spirit’s direction for what would take place next.

Then the Spirit led to open up the microphone and an invitation for whoever felt to come up and say their renewed yes to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. This was a prophetic act that I believed would unlock something. Then I stood there amazed as I watched a tangible move of God take place with this youth group.

One by one, they slowly came up and said their yes to follow Jesus with their whole hearts. They did not rush up to the microphone to say yes flippantly, but really considered and counted the cost before stepping out. These were already Christians so it was no altar call for salvation but for wholehearted yieldedness and consecration. It was a laying down of their lives to say yes to whatever God called them to. Many were weeping. Even some who never made it up to say yes were weeping. Whenever one spoke out their yes, it was important to cover them in prayer. As we continued to wait on God, many were kneeling and weeping before the Lord while others were hugging and praying for their friends.

I had never experienced anything like this before in my life in a youth group. Whenever I release the Welsh Revival or the Azusa Revival, something powerful and deep always happens. This time it was both revivals released at the same night with a youth group that was hungry for God and even preparing to send several into Iraq to release worship there. It was one of those moments of stepping into a momentum so great where everyone just gets swept up into God’s divine purposes.

Many of the youth stayed kneeling or positioning themselves to encounter God even as parents showed up. Youth group was supposed to end around 8pm but even until 9pm many of the youth were still encountering God and getting marked by His consecrated fire. Around 9:30 or 10, there was just a handful of youth left along with some parents and youth leaders present. Then one of the beautiful girls who was on the youth team to the Middle East leaving this week, went to the piano and with tears in her eyes played and sang out to Jesus and also flowed in prophetic intercession over the sons and daughters in the Middle East that are so loved by God (her mother told me that this was the first time she had ever stepped out to do something like this). Another girl got up and danced which I found out later she had not done for a year. Then we just sat there and soaked in God’s presence as these beautiful surrendered lovers of Jesus worshiped for another hour. Their moms were getting wrecked in the back watching their daughters flow so freely and yielded to the Holy Spirit. I ended up leaving at 11pm and they were still going. There was so much freedom in the house. The next day I found out that they stayed worshipping there until 1:00 a.m.

While I see God move every time we create space and give Him room to come in our meetings, I don’t always see or experience a tangible move of God as profound as this one. It feels like we stepped into something so much bigger than ourselves. I’m so grateful for the timing and opportunity to witness and be swept up in this move of God here for such a time as this. What a deep well this place is and I’m so excited for the new season God is inviting them into.

Testimonies

Watch the video below at minute 7:00-17:00 to see some of the testimonies from the youth that they released the next evening in the prayer meeting.

I am so thankful for Kim Hager welcoming me to minister in this city and launching the pioneering Walking on Water groups here, David Bradshaw for what he has built and cultivated here, Aaron the youth pastor who has been making room for the Holy Spirit and is hungry to see God move, Havilah for the courage to say yes, Susan for welcoming me in the women’s ministry, Scott Bradshaw for the revival history tour, Bill & Nancy for hosting me, Liz for that epic massage, Emily for those timeless stories, Joan Hutter for introducing me to the inheritance in Virginia and coming out twice to support what God is doing in Fredericksburg, and everyone who was a part of making this such an unforgettable week.  I am excited for what God is doing and continuing to do in greater measures here in Virginia. May all who read this receive a fresh wind of the Spirit and a deeper fire of consecration marking you so you are ready and perfectly positioned to steward the incoming harvest that is already upon us. All for His glory, Holy Spirit come!

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*If you want to learn more about the Azusa Street Revival, The Welsh Revival, and Pandita Ramabai’s revival in India, check out Ignite Azusa or join our School of Pioneering Revival