One Million Saved - With little human planning, a nation-wide revival broke out among God's people in "union prayer meetings" beginning in 1857. In the awakening that followed, nearly 1,000,000 people accepted Christ and became involved in churches in a two-year period. Based on percentages of converts

to the general population, a similar move of God in our day would result in 8-9 million people turning to Christ.

Great Need - The years leading up to 1857 were years of tremendous growth and prosperity for America. Population was booming. People and businesses were becoming wealthy. The "cares of the world" captured the minds and hearts of Americans choking out their interest in God and His kingdom.

Churches were declining in numbers, strength and influence.

Union Prayer Meetings - The growth of New York City began to force the wealthy residents out of the downtown area. They were replaced by unchurched masses of common laborers. Many churches decided to move to "more fruitful" locations. In a state of decline, the North Dutch Church decided to stay and reach the lost masses around them. They employed a business man, Jeremiah Lanphier, as a lay missionary. He began to visit homes, distribute Bibles and tracts, and advertise church services. Facing

a discouraging response, he fonnd comfort in prayer.

One day he prayed, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" He sensed God's leadership to begin a weekly prayer service at the noon hour for workers and business people to commune with God. He began on Wednesday, September 23, 1857, with six people attending. The second week 20 attended, and 40 the

third. The hunger and thirst after God was evident, and they began daily "union prayer meeting" the fourth week. People of all classes of society and form many denominations attended.

The Economic Crash of 1857 - God has a praying people in place when the financial crash of 1857 hit one week after the daily prayer meetings began. "When it [the crash] came, merchants by the thousands all over the country were forced to the wall, banks failed, and railroads when into bankruptcy."

In New York City alone 30,000 people lost their jobs. Added to the financial crisis, the nation was gripped by the tensions over slavery. The future of the nation was bleak indeed.

Revival - In the midst of disaster and with a great hunger for God, people flooded the prayer meetings by the thousands. The meetings spread all over town and then across the nation. Businesses even closed to allow their employees time for prayer. The newspapers gave front-page coverage of

"Revival News" and revival spread like wildfire across the country. Religion became the common topic of conversation.

Awakening - When the revival/awakening was at its peak, 50,000 people were converted every week. Within a year nearly one million people were converted. "Bishop McIlvaine, in his annual address before the Diocesan Convention of Ohio, said: 'I rejoice in the decided conviction that it [the

revival/awakening] is "the Lord's doing;" unaccountable by any natural causes, entirely above and beyond what any human device or power could produce; an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon God's people, quickening them to greater earnestness in his service; and upon the unconverted, to

make them new creatures in Christ Jesus.'"

Would you be willing to pray, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Would you be willing to wait on the Lord until He tells you what He wants to do through you for revival in our day? Help your church make prayer a major strategy for revival.

{taken from Fresh Encounter by Henry Blackaby}