After having studied many revivals, it has been made clear to me that there are similar elements to be found leading up to every revival that has ever occurred. Some people assume that God never does the same thing twice, and that we cannot duplicate things of the past and expect similar results today. I don’t find that to be a 100% accurate statement, because as we study revivals, we find that there are always patterns to be found in every one of them.
When people state that we cannot duplicate what occurred in the past and expect a revival to come when we do them, they are most likely saying we shouldn’t duplicate “methods of the past,” not that we shouldn’t attempt to duplicate “principles of the past.”
Methods are many.
Principles are few.
Methods may change.
But principles never do.
Revival Principles
Since principles never change, we will begin writing about the principles that have consistently been found in revivals, and the first one is this:
Micro-revivals Always Precede Macro-revivals
Revivals almost always begin with an individual whom God sovereignly draws and prepares for launching a revival. God always works through people, and a person will not persistently and unrelentingly pursue God for a revival if that person isn’t first drawn to do so by the Holy Spirit.
That singular individual doesn’t take this task upon themselves. It is initiated by God, so that God alone gets the glory for whatever transpires. This being the case, revival always begins in an individual’s heart before it spreads to the masses. This is a principle to keep in mind while preparing for revival.
A Few Examples of Individuals that Sparked Revival
Jeannine Brabon: 1970 Asbury Revival
Peggy Smith: 1949 Hebrides Revival
Evan Roberts: 1904 Welsh Revival
James McQuilkin: 1859 Ulster, Ireland Revival
Jeremiah Lanphier: 1857 Layman’s Prayer Revival
John Girardeau: 1857 Anson Street Revival
