No Pain, No Gain

" O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years...in wrath remember mercy."   Habakkuk 3:2

"When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is set them to a-praying." ~ Matthew Henry

In 1949, two elderly sisters, Peggy and Christine Smith, one nearly blind and the other bent over by stenosis, begin to pray for the Lord to send revival. They lived off the coast of Scotland on the island of Lewis, in the Hebrides. The two sisters were no longer able to attend services, but they were concerned and burdened for their church. There were no young people in the church. The congregation had become complacent, apathetic, and nearly spiritually dead.

Despite their handicaps, the two sisters persevered in prayer - no pain, no gain! Peggy received a vision in which she saw her church filled with young people and an unidentified minister leading the awakening. She encouraged her pastor, Reverend James Murray Mackay, to exhort other pastors in the area to begin praying with them.

Reverend Mackay organized a group of pastors, and they developed a resolution to all the Free Churches of Scotland, stating their concern for the 'barrenness of the parishes,' urging everyone to "turn again to the Lord Whom we have so grieved with our waywardness and iniquities." They asked for many to be "visited with a spirit of repentance."

It was not enough to write a resolution and send it to all the churches; results require sacrifice - no pain, no gain.

Weeks of prayer followed the resolution, sometimes in unheated buildings during the winter. They had a growing sense of desperation for God to move in their midst with power.

One night at a prayer meeting in a barn, a young deacon read from Psalm 24: 3-4a.  "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart."  Then he prayed, "God, are  my  hands clean? Is  my  heart pure?"

About 3 a.m., the Holy Spirit fell with power on those fervent intercessors. It was still dark when they left the barn, and they were shocked to find men and women kneeling along the roads, crying out to God for mercy. Lights were on in almost every home because the Holy Spirit had awakened people!

Scottish evangelist Duncan Campbell was asked to come and preach on the island. On the first night, three hundred people filled the little church. Campbell preached, but nothing happened. After everyone left the building, a young deacon said to Campbell, "Nothing has broken out tonight, but God is hovering over us, and He will break through any moment." The young man lifted his hands and began to pray, "God, You made a promise to pour water on the thirsty and floods upon the dry grounds, and You are not doing it." He began to intercede in prayer until he collapsed on the floor - no pain, no gain!

At around 11 p.m., the back door of the church burst open, and a man entered saying, "Mr. Campbell, something wonderful has happened! We were praying that God would pour water on the thirsty and floods upon the dry ground and listen, He's done it! He's done it! Will you come to the door and see the crowd that is here?" When Duncan Campbell opened the door, he couldn't believe his eyes. A crowd had mysteriously appeared that no one had invited. They had been drawn sovereignly by God!

That same night, they were about a hundred young people at a dance. At the time the young deacon was praying, the music came to a halt. The conviction of the Holy Spirit suddenly overcame the young people. They left the dance hall and began running to the church. The hunger and thirst for God seemed to overtake everyone in the area. Over eight hundred packed the church. People in the aisles and the pews were on their knees, crying out for God to have mercy. The meeting lasted till 4 a.m. It was a sovereign work of God that spread all over the island.

What brought about this revival?

First, there was a burden that began in the hearts of two disabled sisters. Instead of ignoring it, they began to pray fervently. Their prayers moved God to burden others to pray. Pastors became concerned over the barren condition of their churches. It wasn't long till the burden resulted in desperation for a sovereign move of God.

Instead of pointing the finger of blame at the pastor, the deacons, the singers, people began searching their hearts and asking, "God, are  MY  hands clean? Is  MY  heart pure?"

There is no doubt we are living in the darkest, most desperate hours of our lifetime. The year 2020 has been like nothing we have ever seen. In the last six or seven weeks, my husband and I have both had the coronavirus. On October the 2nd, I walked out of the emergency room, knowing it could very well be the last time I saw him alive. He was admitted to ICU with COVID pneumonia in both lungs and spent eight days on a ventilator. For weeks I had to sit at home in isolation, not allowed to see him, and only getting limited information by phone a couple of times a day. Thankfully God brought him through, and he is well on his way to recovery!

Many families have lost loved ones to this horrible virus; many are still being affected. It's safe to say that COVID-19 has changed life as we know it.

I don't know what's going to happen in our nation. Washington, D.C. cannot fix our problems. But one thing I do know, we need a sovereign move of God!

Are you sick of the corruption, fraud, hatred, lies, and news media bias? Are you troubled by the violence and anarchy in our streets? Are you concerned about the loss of your religious and civil liberties? Are you worried about the outcome of the election? Do you hate the murder of unborn babies and the destruction of God-ordained marriage and families?

Most importantly, are you burdened for millions of souls in this country and around the world that are lost without Christ and headed for hell?

The prophet Habakkuk cried out, " O Lord, revive Thy work." What is the work of God? The salvation of souls!

The only solution for COVID-19 is God. The only hope for our government, for America, is God. The only answer is an awakening, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will first fall upon the church and, in turn, grip the hearts of sinful men and women with conviction so strong, God will compel them to cry out in repentance.

We will never see revival if our motives are wrong. God will never send revival just so men and women can make a name for themselves or boast about the size of their church. We will never see revival until we get a burden and begin to travail for lost souls.

"Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can  you  sit at ease in Zion with the world around you  DAMNED ?" ~ Leonard Ravenhill

"For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Isaiah 66:8

Who better to love and care for a baby than the mother who travailed in labor and pain to give birth to it? Who better to encourage and train a new, born-again Christian than someone who travailed in prayer for God to save their soul? Travail prepares and qualifies you to care for new converts. We see people come and pray at our altars, and in a few weeks, they are gone.

Charles Spurgeon said, "The church that never travailed if God should send her a hundred converts, would be unfit to train them."

For a long time, I have been praying for a move of God that no flesh could receive glory. What would that look like? Less than a century ago, on the island of Lewis, in the Hebrides, Christians began praying for God to visit them, and He came! Hundreds were drawn to the church by the power of God  against  their will. There were  no  solos, choirs, or musical instruments, just the congregation in one accord, singing the Psalms. Services would last till the morning hours;  no one  wanted to leave.

Here is how one writer summed up the Hebrides Revival, "The drawing power of God blanketed the island of Lewis. This power created a longing for God, a hunger for His Word, and an overwhelming conviction of sin -- leading  many  to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior!"

The Hebrides Revival is just one among many in history. Still, every revival, every awakening has had two things in common: someone got a burden and then began to travail in prayer.

While growing up, one of our favorite pastimes was to play church. The day of playing church is over. God has tried to awaken His church with gentle warnings; we have not heeded. He has now brought us to the point of crisis where we have to decide - for or against Christ. Will we stand for Christ, whatever the cost?

Will we play or pray? No pain, no gain!

    "O for a passionate passion for souls, o for a pity that yearns!

     O for the love that loves with death, o for the fire that burns!

     O for the pure prayer-power that prevails, that pours itself out for the lost!

     Victorious prayer in the Conqueror's Name, 

     O for a PENTECOST!" ~ Amy Wilson Carmichael