When God Came to Work
- Sep 22, 2008
Written by Kevin Adams
Little did a New York missionary realize that a noontime prayer meeting he was about to start primarily for businessmen would sweep America in revival and eventually have a worldwide influence.
Jeremiah Calvin Lanphier, a former businessman, had just started his work in July 1857 as an outreach director with the North Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street in New York City (just a few blocks from the later site of the World Trade Center). Convinced only of the centrality of prayer in ministry outreach, Lanphier set out to organize a prayer gathering with a difference:
"Going my rounds in the performance of my duties one day, as I was walking along the streets, the idea was suggested to my mind that an hour of prayer from 12 - 1 p.m. would be beneficial to businessmen, who usually in great numbers take that hour for rest and refreshment. . . . Arrangements were made, and at 12 o'clock noon on the 23 rd of September, 1857, the door of the third-story lecture room was thrown open."
You can imagine his disappointment when not one person turned up for that first half hour, but he was eventually joined by five others. Writing in his journal, Lanphier notes, "We had a good meeting. The Lord was with us to bless us." The following week the number went up to 20, then 30 - 40 the week following. Those praying were so encouraged that they decided to meet daily. And throughout October, November, and December, the numbers grew steadily.
In mid-October Lanphier again excitedly recorded in his journal, "Attended the noon day prayer meeting. Over one hundred present, many of them not professors of religion but under conviction of sin and seeking an interest in Christ, inquiring what they shall do to be saved. God grant that they find Christ precious to their souls."
By the following February, the crowds became so large at Fulton Street that another local church had to be opened to accommodate two more prayer meetings. There were now over 2,000 people praying every day at noon. Within just a few more months, a contemporary witness estimated that not less than 150 similar well-attended prayer meetings were being held all over the city and district. It was not long before these spread nationwide!
One gentleman spoke up at a Boston prayer meeting: "I am from Omaha , the capital of Nebraska . On my journey east, I have found a continuous prayer meeting all the way. We call it about 2,000 miles from Omaha to Boston , and there was a prayer meeting about 2,000 miles in extent."
One contributing factor to the growth of the prayer gatherings and the subsequent revival was probably the panic and hysteria felt in New York with the financial collapse of Wall Street on October 14, 1857. The New York Observer for October 15 noted the extent of the collapse:
"The poor laborer whose wealth is in his hand and the millionaire whose investments are varied to meet each contingency or trial, have found alike the vanity of all earthly independence: Thousands daily thrown out of work without a moment's notice; fortunes which have been founded with rare skill and industry and nurtured through every precious change of season, crumbled or vanished like a dream."
A Revival of Prayer
In the 18th century, America had experienced the First Great Awakening under the preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. Again in the early 19th century, a second great awakening swept the nation, taking the form of camp meetings in the frontier states, thanks in part to the evangelistic efforts of Charles G. Finney. But contemporaries all point out that the 1857 - 1858 Laymen's Prayer Revival was different in its emphasis.
Finney himself, writing in March 1858, notes: "Such is the desire to pray and be prayed for that people prefer prayer meetings to preaching. At prayer meetings the people don't want exhortation or talk, but prayer. This is a very marked feature of this work."
Another contemporary writer adds: "There had been no eloquent preaching, no energetic and enthusiastic appeals: no attempts to rouse up religious interest. All had been still, solemn and full of awe. The simple fact, the great fact was the people were moved by prayer. The people demanded a place to pray."
A Revival of Laymen
In many ways the prayer meetings characterizing the revival were very simple. The prayer room would be opened some time before noon, and participants would quietly come in and take their seats while on lunch break from their jobs. Generally, a leader-more often than not a businessman-would begin the meeting by giving out a hymn and praying a short prayer, followed by a reading of Scripture.
This would usually be followed by prayer requests which were read from slips of paper by the chairman, who would ask someone to intercede for those named. The rest of the meeting would be a mixture of more prayer requests, either in written form or requested by someone present. Most services also included many personal testimonies of answered prayer from previous meetings. Of course, these answers would regularly kindle renewed intercession by those present. Each meeting might have its differences, yet this was mainly the general outline and order.
The Fulton Street meeting even had a placard hung in the lecture room, reminding those present that no individual should dominate or take over the service: "Brethren are earnestly requested to adhere to the five minute rule. Prayer and exhortations not to exceed five minutes in order to give all an opportunity. Not more than two consecutive prayers or exhortations, no controversial points discussed!"
This format was not typical for nineteenth-century norms. Not only was there not a sermon, but very often the meetings were led by laymen rather than clergy. Here was a revival with no dominant famous names. Big names took part; famous names felt the effect-yet even the founder, Jeremiah Lanphier, was and remains a relative unknown in the history of the church. This truly was an everyman's revival , where the focus remained on what God could do in answer to prayer.
A Revival of Power
Prayer for the lost was being visibly answered. This was no time to be focusing on secondary issues of church organization or controversial emphases of theological interpretation. It was enough that a "union prayer meeting" was being held and that, as a result, thousands of prayers were being answered. Christians were returning to the key priorities of their Christian walk and were excited to see friends and family come to a living faith.
A father told his story in one of the Fulton Street meetings:
"Oh, don't discourage these requests for prayer. Where would my son have been had it not been for your prayers? I have followed him around the globe with mine. He lately came home from sea unconverted. I brought his case right here; I said, "Men of Israel, help." I wanted you to help me pray for him. I knew you would not do anything for him but pray. God must do all the work. He must bow that stubborn will and humble that proud heart. Oh, what cause for thankfulness and joy I have that God hears and answers prayer. That son is truly a new creature in Christ Jesus, and to God be all the glory. Do not feel tired with the coming of new requests for prayer. Oh, no, no. Let us rejoice that they do come."
And they did rejoice, and they did continue to pray.
It was not long before the newspapers of the day began to report on the growing prayer cells. The progress of the revival became a regular feature in both the New York Herald and New York Tribune. The Tribune devoted an entire issue in April of 1858 to news of the revival.
As in the First Great Awakening and the ministry of George Whitefield, the newspapers became an effective way to spread news of the revival. Jeremiah Lanphier was intentional in seeking to inform the media of what was happening. The newly developed telegraph-the Internet of the time-also became a vehicle to spread news of prayers and their answers around the nation.
Lanphier didn't disregard the need to publicize and promote the work. He was not a passivist-he believed that he had an important part to play in the divine program. In a church culture that had disagreements over how much God's sovereign work in salvation related to man's responsibility to reach others, Lanphier's dual emphasis on prayer to God and proclamation to man hit a much needed balance through which thousands of lives were transformed.
Historians have estimated that anywhere from 500,000 to 1,000,000 souls were added to the church in America during a two-year-or-so period from late 1857 to 1859-at the peak of the revival more than 50,000 people coming to Christ every week! Only God knows the total effect worldwide, but in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Fulton Street prayer meeting on September 23, 2007, we are again reminded of what God can still do in response to the united prayer and obedience of His people.
Personal Prayer Initiative
In 1841 George Williams arrived in London to work as a fabric manufacturer at the firm of Hitchcock and Rogers. Having recently begun to grow in his relationship with God, he was concerned about the spiritual condition of the 140 workers at his company. What he saw did not look good, according to this journal entry: "I found no means of spiritual interest of any kind."
Shortly thereafter, he discovered that a fellow worker was an active Christian. They began to pray by name for each of their fellow employees and confidently expected them to become Christians.
Williams soon made this matter-of-fact entry in his diary: "We met, our numbers grew, and the room was soon crammed. In answer to prayer, the Spirit of God was present, and we had conversion after conversion. Scores of employees and even the firm's president professed faith in Christ."
An observer of the spiritual activity at Hitchcock and Rogers commented that when Williams came to the firm in 1841, it was almost impossible for a young man there to be a Christian. By contrast, three years later it was almost impossible to be anything else!
Others became aware of the spiritual fervor at the fabric company and wondered why something like this should not be tried in other firms. In 1844, 12 men met in a small room, and an organization was formed that would impact the world-the YMCA.
The "Take 5" Prayer Challenge:
In the spirit of George Williams, why not pray for 5 co-workers for 5 minutes each day. As you pray, commit to building relationships with them and to finding ways to show kindness and care. Then, as God allows, share the message of God's love.
Bibliography and for further reading:
The Power of Prayer: The New York Revival of 1858 by Samuel Prime
The Event of the Century: The 1857 - 1858 Awakening by J. Edwin Orr
Article Retrieved Sept. 22, 2008 from Lifeaction.org
