The story of the Welsh Revival of 1904 has made a big impact on my life. In the early 1970's while I was in California, I heard Dr. J. Edwin Orr give a series of lectures on great revivals. He related many of the details of what happened in Wales in 1904.
The Welsh Revival brought in 100,000 new converts in the next year. The movement spread all over the world. Yet that great move of the Spirit had very small beginnings. Various websites reminded me of the facts I share below.
A young teenager, Florrie Evans, in a youth meeting in February 1904, declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire qu
ickly spread to other young people in the area.
Evan Roberts, a 26 year old former miner preparing for the ministry, returned home in September and became the main spokesman of the revival for the next two years.
People were changed in so many ways. It was reported that the ponies in the mines failed to understand the commands of the born again miners who spoke now without cursing and blasphemy.
Pubs became almost empty. Men and women who used to waste their money in getting drunk were now saving it, giving it to help their churches, buying clothes and food for their families. Stealing and other offenses grew less and less so that often a magistrate came to court and found there were no cases for him.
The Welsh Revival brought in 100,000 new converts in the next year. The movement spread all over the world. Yet that great move of the Spirit had very small beginnings. Various websites reminded me of the facts I share below.
A young teenager, Florrie Evans, in a youth meeting in February 1904, declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire qu
ickly spread to other young people in the area.Evan Roberts, a 26 year old former miner preparing for the ministry, returned home in September and became the main spokesman of the revival for the next two years.
People were changed in so many ways. It was reported that the ponies in the mines failed to understand the commands of the born again miners who spoke now without cursing and blasphemy.
Pubs became almost empty. Men and women who used to waste their money in getting drunk were now saving it, giving it to help their churches, buying clothes and food for their families. Stealing and other offenses grew less and less so that often a magistrate came to court and found there were no cases for him.
People who had been careless about paying their bills, or paying back money they had borrowed, paid up all they owed. Those who had not been friends for a long time because of something that had happened in the past, forgot their quarrels and were happy together again.
In fact, Evan Roberts used to say that there could be no blessing on anyone who had unkind thoughts about anyone else.
Besides the stories of changed lives, what I remember most from Dr. Orr’s addresses were the four principles that Evan Roberts shared:
1. Confess all known sin
2. Deal with and get rid of anything ‘doubtful’ in your life
3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly
2. Deal with and get rid of anything ‘doubtful’ in your life
3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly
4. Confess Christ publicly
When my third son was born in 1981, I named him Evan, in honor of Evan Roberts, with the hope that my son would be used to stir revival in his lifetime. Interestingly, my Evan is 26 years old now.
I have repeated the story of the revival in Wales many times over the years. Several years ago in a message I told the congregation that I realized they may have trouble believing some of the elements of the story.
After the message a man told me he well knew the truth of the Wales Revival, for his father had been converted during the revival!
Recently I purchased a DVD that was created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Welsh Revival of 1904. Through use of contemporary letters, interviews, and photographs, the DVD examines the revival through the eyes and thoughts of Evan Roberts.
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