After a long period of decline, the churches of every denomination in Britain are enjoying today a period of new life. Careful observers are timid about using the word “revival,” for that would give to the outsider a picture of crowded churches and a genuine spiritual awakening throughout the land. Of this there is no great sign, despite the overwhelming success of Dr. Billy Graham’s Crusades in London and Glasgow. I would rather call it a “turn in the tide.” The slow but steady drift away from the church on the part of the majority of the population of Britain has for the moment ceased, and there is a slow but steady drift back to the church.
Golden Hour For Evangelism
While I was Moderator of the Free Church Council of England and Wales in 1955 and 1956, I could not help observing the large congregations and the deep interest of ministers and members alike in the vital topic of evangelism. The relationship between the Church of England and the Free churches (i.e., the Established and the non-established churches) is of the friendliest order, and I found myself preaching in Canterbury Cathedral and some of the other historic cathedrals and parish churches of England, as well as in free churches, large and small, up and down the land. The general impression I got was that the tide has definitely turned, and that men and women are hungering for some sure Word of God. This, I believe, is a golden hour for evangelism, which the churches of our land will miss at their peril.
The revival of interest in religious matters in the universities and colleges of Britain is but another welcome sign of this awakening. Where a few years ago, political meetings were crowded to the door and religious groups had a thin time, the tables have now been turned. Speakers on religious topics are facing crowded meetings, while even outstanding politicians can gather only a handful of listeners. Dr. Billy Graham was wise in his choice of time for visiting London, Glasgow and especially Cambridge. Skeptics wagged their heads and said he might draw crowds in London and Glasgow, but Cambridge would never stand for his fundamentalism! They were completely contradicted by results. No churches in Cambridge were capable of holding the crowds, and the results in decisions for Christ among the undergraduates of that ancient university were just as striking as in any other part of the country.
Prayer Meeting Revival
But to many of us the most hopeful sign of the times has been the revival of the prayer meeting. Time was when every church had its week night prayer meeting (usually on Wednesday nights). A church would as soon have thought of doing without a heating boiler as not having a prayer meeting. In a sense the prayer meeting was the “power house” of the Church, and miracles of conversion happened on Sundays because minister, officebearers and members prayed fervently on Wednesday that they might happen, and then turned up at church on Sunday expecting them to happen. And they were not disappointed.
The weekly prayer meeting (with a few outstanding exceptions) was not crowded to the door, but a “Godly remnant” met with unfailing faithfulness and each church was blessed because of the devotion of the faithful few. The minister usually presided and led in prayer himself, but it was not by any means left entirely to him. One after another would rise and unburden their minds and hearts in prayer, some of them in their simple and direct form of speech, having a real “gift” of extempore prayer. I have known miners and laboring men whose English was faulty and whose grammar was far from perfect but who could move a prayer meeting to tears by the sincerity and depth of their prayers.
Death Of A Noble Cause
But gradually over fifty years the prayer meeting began to change its character and in many cases to die out altogether. The multiplicity of other meetings and organizations, the advent of the local cinema and the coming of wireless and television played havoc with the attendance. In many cases it was moved to Sunday just prior to the morning or evening service and, owing to the “tongue-tiedness” of so many, the mid-week prayer meeting gradually became a mid-week service which was a pale copy of the Sunday service with a slightly shorter sermon. The whole service was conducted by the minister, and the laity gradually gave up taking any vocal part in it apart from the singing of hymns and joining in the Lord’s Prayer. Most ministers in Britain run their churches singlehandedly and, with so many other duties to perform, found the addition of a rather badly attended week-night service more than they could tackle. So in many congregations the prayer meeting died a natural death.
Time Of Restoration
But of late it has begun to revive, and a demand for prayer and Bible study is arising in churches of all denominations and in every part of the country. There is no doubt that the great Crusades led by Dr. Graham have had an important share in this revival. Just as the great missions of Moody and Sankey were followed by a nation-wide revival of the prayer meeting, so the thousands of converts from Billy Graham’s Crusades who came into our churches felt the need of such meetings through the week. The thousands of counselors who, during the Crusades, attended training classes and studied their Bibles systematically, felt the need of continuing this Bible study. These two streams, added to the awakened interest in evangelism through the local church which was evident about the same time, brought a demand for prayer and Bible study groups in many a church where the prayer meeting had died out.
One interesting factor is that in many cases the demand is arising from young people. Where ministers have been wise enough to let these young people take the leadership (standing in the background merely to help and advise when needed) it has transformed the life of their congregation. Group study of the Bible, followed by discussion, and intercessions led by the laity in church premises and in private houses, are becoming more and more popular. Autre temps, autre moeurs. Our forefathers who believed in extempore prayer would be surprised if they heard the well-prepared and written-out prayers which many of the young people utter. But the care with which they choose their prayers from the treasures of liturgy, or the time taken to prepare their own prayers, is symbolic of the fact that they wish to offer to God the best they have to give.
Intercession For The Sick
Another interesting feature of the modern prayer meeting is the intercessions for the sick, which are now an integral part of many meetings. The Church at large has awakened to the fact that one important section of its missionary and evangelistic task has been neglected far too long: the healing of the sick. When the Lord sent out his first disciples they were commissioned to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. But with the passing of the centuries we have forgotten the latter part or left it entirely to the medical profession. Modern scientific discovery of the effect of mind over matter, and of the inseparability of body, mind and soul, has led men to realize the importance of prayer in the great work of healing the body. The churches have set up commissions composed of outstanding ministers and medical men to study divine healing, and in hundreds of churches up and down the land there are regular meetings and services where prayers for the sick and the suffering are offered to God. In some cases where they have discovered latent powers, ministers lay hands on the suffering and anoint them with oil, while the congregation prays. But where this is not done, cases are described in detail, and specific instances are brought before God’s throne in prayer. From every part of the country reports have come of amazing cures, where the healing skill of trained doctors has been reinforced by the power of concentrated prayer.
A Gleam Of Light
All these new and differing forms of prayer, and the revival of the prayer meeting in churches and homes all over the land, are filling the hearts of Christian people over here with new hope. Britain used to be known throughout the world as “The Land of the Book,” but of late the sad neglect of that great Book of God and the falling away of millions from the practice of church-going have been accompanied by a decline in moral leadership among the nations of the world. This falling away from God’s Word, from God’s throne and from the observance of the Lord’s Day has brought sad consequences to our nation. Everywhere one looks one finds a disillusioned people. The great hopes they had pinned on man’s cleverness and his ability to raise himself by his own bootstraps have been dashed to the ground, and they are seeking everywhere for some sure word of hope and salvation.
This then is a golden hour for evangelism, when amid the disillusion and shifting sands of the hour we can point men to the Rock of Ages and assure them that in Christ alone is the hope of salvation for all mankind. And as all true and lasting evangelism begins in prayer, the revival of the prayer meeting is a sure sign that Britain is turning back to God. We may have a long road to travel yet, but at least there is a gleam of light in the darkness of our journey. Our own insufficiency in the face of the national and international problems which beset us and the assurance that only divine help will save our nation and our world are driving us to our knees in prayer. And there we will find, as our forefathers found, that our sufficiency is of God.
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The Rev. F. P. Copland Simmons, M.A., served in 1955 and 1956 as Moderator of the Free Church Council of England and Wales, a position of leadership over 23,000 churches, mainly Methodist, Congregational, Baptist and Presbyterian. During that period he addressed some 1,000 gatherings in England and Wales, traveling about 25,000 miles.
