History of Concert of PRayer

The History of ‘Concerts of Prayer’
Joseph Tracy, the primary historian of the (First) Great Awakening, wrote “...the Concert of Prayer for the Conversion of the World was first suggested by the leading revivalists in Scotland, in October, 1744.” They determined that for the next two years they would set apart some time on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings every week for prayer and it was decided that the first Tuesday of each quarter (beginning with the first Tuesday of November) would be time to be spent in prayer. People were to pray for either the entire day or part of the day, as they found themselves disposed, or as circumstances allowed. They would meet in either private prayer groups or in public meetings, whichever was found to be most convenient.

As a result a group of ministers covenanted to give themselves weekly to “united extraordinary supplications to the God of all grace...earnestly praying to Him that He would appear in His glory...by an abundant effusion of His Holy Spirit... to revive true religion in all parts of Christendom...and fill the whole earth with His glory.”

The results were positive but not particularly extraordinary. The movement spread and the evangelical cause was strengthened and the church enlarged in a small way. The practice spread throughout Great Britain, and a memorial printed in 1746 recommended that evangelicals on both sides of the Atlantic establish a formal spiritual community through a “Concert for Prayer.”

John Erskine, a notable evangelical leader and theologian, of Edinburgh, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who was greatly influenced by the Cambuslang Revival in 1742, sent a copy of this little book to Jonathan Edwards in New England.  He had seen two periods of revival – one in 1734-5 and the other between 1740-1742 – and he was so moved that he wrote a response which grew longer than a letter, so that finally he published it in 1747 as a book, entitled: “A Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of All God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on earth pursuant to Scripture Promises and Prophecies concerning the Last Time…”

He already knew that such efforts worked. He had organized meetings for prayer and praise since before the revival of 1734-35.  He knew of similar awakenings in Scotland were sustained by weekly prayer meetings.   The result of his research and writing was a strong case from scripture for an international Concert of Prayer. 

From then on ‘concerts of prayer’ became part of the Anglo-American evangelical scene. But enthusiasm waned when no immediate results were seen. Then there was a period of almost 40 years when this new seed was incubating.

The Concert of Prayer in the Second Great Awakening
Then, in 1784, this burden for prayer was awakened again by the same John Erskine of Edinburgh. He re-published and distributed Jonathan Edward's earnest plea for revival prayer. Denomination after denomination devoted a monthly Monday evening to prayer, first in Britain, then in the US.

In 1791, the year John Wesley died, the storm clouds broke. The beginning of the revival can be traced to the industrial towns of Yorkshire in late 1791, spreading through all areas and denominations. The Methodists alone grew from around 72,000 at Wesley’s death in 1791 to almost a quarter of a million within a generation.
At the same time, the churches in Wales became packed again and thousands gathered in the open air. The Haldanes (Robert and James) and Thomas Chalmers, with a few others, saw phenomenal awakenings in Scotland. Ireland too, saw local awakenings, especially among the Methodists.

A remarkable result of these UK revivals was the founding the British and Foreign Bible Society, The Religious Tract Society, The Baptist Missionary Society, The London Missionary Society, The Church Missionary Society and a host of other evangelistic agencies. It also achieved considerable social reform; evangelical Anglicans successfully fought for the abolition of the slave trade, prisons were reformed, Sunday Schools began and a number of benevolent institutions were commenced.

In 1794, Isaac Backus and Stephen Gano, along with twenty-three other New England ministers, distributed a circular letter which called for a concert of prayer of believers to pray for a general awakening. They agreed to begin a Concert of Prayer for a general awakening to be held at two o’clock on the first Tuesday of the four quarters of the year. They began in January 1795.

By 1798 the awakening had broken out everywhere. Every state and every evangelical denomination was affected. Timothy Dwight, grandson of Jonathan Edwards, took over Yale College in 1795 and saw over half the students converted in just one year. Other colleges enjoyed similar movements of the Spirit.
James McGready and Barton Stone witnessed an astounding revival at Kentucky in 1800, with much trembling, shaking, tears, shouting and fainting. In 1801 Barton Stone was invited to minister at the Cambridge meeting house in Bourbon County. A second visit attracted 20,000 people to a 6-day camp-meeting, which witnessed astounding revival scenes, with hundreds falling at once, with shrieks and shouts and many conversions.

The 1859 Revival
In September 1857 Jeremiah Lanphier, a businessman and convert of Finney's (a decade before), began a noon day prayer meeting on Wednesdays in a New York church. The small but growing numbers decided to meet daily in early October. Within six months over 10,000 business men were meeting in similar meetings across America; confessing sins, being converted and praying for revival. It was a lay-led movement that harvested a million souls in two years. In 1858, from February to June, around 50,000 people a week were added to the church - in a nation whose population was only 30,000,000.

Across the Atlantic another million were won to Christ by 1865. This was in Britain's population of 27,000,000. Ulster saw 100,000 converted, Scotland 30,000, Wales 100,000 and England 500,000.

And we need not mention the Welsh revival! For thirteen years Evan Roberts prayed for a gracious outpouring of the Spirit, first alone, then with his friend, Sydney, then with a small group of recommitted young believers.

To be continued

Tony Cauchi
June 2010

Near Baltimore:

 

During the conference, a work of God commenced in that section of Baltimore called Old Town. Meetings were held here in private houses, which were attended by some of the preachers while not engaged in the business of the conference, by which means several souls were brought to the knowledge of the truth. From this beginning, the work spread in different directions though the city, in the churches as well as in private houses. Such a glorious work had not been seen in Baltimore for several years, and the old professors were much excited and encouraged at beholding their children and neighbors coming into the fold of Christ.

About two weeks after the adjournment of the General Conference, an annual conference was held at Duck Creek Cross Roads, where many of the young converts, and some of the more experienced Christians from Baltimore, came for the purpose of attending the meetings. Here the Lord wrought powerfully. While the members of the conference were transacting their business in a private house, some of the younger traveling and some local preachers were almost constantly engaged in preaching to the people exhorting and praying with them; and such was the intenseness with which they pursued their work, that at the church, the meeting was held without intermission for forty-five hours.6 Often, during these meetings, the voice of the preacher was drowned either by the cries of the distressed or the shouts of the redeemed.

As these effects were new to many, they at first looked on with silent astonishment, until, before they were fully aware of it, both saints and sinners would be seized with a shaking and trembling, and finally prostrated helpless upon the floor. The result of these exercises was, that not less than one hundred and fifty souls were converted to God during the session of the Conference. Such a time of “refreshing from the presence of the Lord" had never before been witnessed in that part of the country.

But there was one argument which silenced them all. Often those very persons who were most violent in their opposition, most vociferous in their hard speeches against what they denominated “wild fire,” would become so warmed by its heat, that their hearts were melted within them, and “falling down on their faces, they would worship God, and report that God was in them of a truth.” This argument was irresistible. It was demonstration. And many such were presented during the progress of these meetings. In such cases, those who before had been blasphemers, and mockers, persecutors, and bigoted dogmatizers, were not only struck dumb, but the “tongue of the dumb was made to sing,” and those very opposers of the work became the living witnesses for its divine and genuine character, and stood forth as its bold and fearless defenders.

1799 near OHio:

He was expected to preach, but instead of that he arose and told the people that the overpowering nature of his feelings would not allow of his preaching, but as the Lord was evidently among them, he earnestly exhorted the people to surrender their hearts to him. Sobs and cries bespoke the deep feeling which pervaded the hearts of the people.