Don’t Give Up On America! |
| History provides hope for another spiritual awakening in the U.S. A Message by Dr. Dale A. Robbins
How far it seems that the United States has drifted from its rich
religious heritage. But many may not realize, that despite our nation’s Christian
beginnings, in only a few short years after it’s founding it had already declined to
a level of moral decadence and depravity that would rival today’s sad condition. According to the late church historian, J. Edwin Orr, in the post
Revolutionary War years, drunkenness was of epidemic proportions — of a population of
four million, three hundred thousand were considered drunkards. Bank robberies occurred
daily. Street crime, rape and murder was rampant and citizens were afraid to go out of
their homes at night. Profanity was the worst imaginable, shocking in its filthiness. The spiritual climate of the nation was disparaging. The
Presbyterians met in general assembly to deplore the ungodliness of the country. Both the
Methodists and Baptists were losing more members than they were gaining. The Lutherans and
Episcopalians were struggling, and even considered a merger for the sake of survival.
Episcopal Bishop of New York, Samuel Provoost, had confirmed no one for so long that he
quit the ministry. Samuel Shepherd, a pastor in Lenox, Massachusetts, said that he had not
taken one young person into church membership in sixteen years. A poll at Harvard revealed that there was not one believer in the
entire student body. At Princeton, only two believers were discovered among the students.
Christianity was generally ridiculed. A mock communion was conducted at Williams College;
Anti-Christian plays were performed at Dartmouth; In New Jersey, a Bible was taken from a
Presbyterian church and burned in a public bonfire. Christians were such a minority on
campuses that they met in secret and kept minutes in code so they wouldn’t be caught
or persecuted. The Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, wrote that
the Church was “too far gone ever to be revived.” Kenneth Scott Latourette, the
Church historian, said, “It looked as though Christianity were a waning influence,
about to be ushered out of the affairs of men.” Indeed, it appeared that the church
in America was an endangered species. By all indications, the nation had rejected the
Christianity of their forefathers — sin and moral decay flourished. But something
incredible occurred which changed what seemed to be an impossible situation. A revival of
prayer erupted that changed the destiny of our nation. The awakening of prayer seemed to first begin in the British Isles.
In 1792, just a year after the death of John Wesley, a renewed spiritual hunger and
revival began to take hold in Great Britain. John Erskine, a minister in Edinburgh,
Scotland, wrote a little book on prayer which stirred the hearts of people, and sent a
copy to the famed New England theologian, Jonathan Edwards. He along with another New
England preacher, Baptist Pastor Isacc Backus, were instrumental in arousing a national
interest to pray. In 1794, the spiritual climate in America was at its worst when Backus
called upon the ministers of every American church to unite in prayer for the nation. God
was with these efforts, and churches of every denomination responded to the national
appeal. Soon, a network of prayer meetings emerged across the country, coordinated to pray
in unison, beginning on the first Tuesday of January, 1795, and once each quarter
thereafter. Predictably, as people sought God, signs of revival began to be
seen. It was first evident in New England, sweeping through Connecticut then on to
Massachusetts. In Logan County Kentucky, where sin was somewhere on the scale of Sodom and
Gomorrah, a Presbyterian minister, James McGready, held unified prayer meetings every
third Saturday and at sunrise on Sundays. In a letter he wrote that most of the winter of
1799, was spent weeping and mourning with the people of God. Finally in the summer of
1800, great camp meeting revivals swept Kentucky and Tennessee, then burst over into North
and South Carolina and swept the frontier. Some years ago, I visited Cane Ridge, Kentucky where one of these
great camp meetings converged for six days in August of 1801. It was here that the
Christian Church denomination, as well as other fellowships, marked their origin. The
historical placards described how over twenty thousand persons, from all over the country,
came together almost intuitively, without any promotion or organized campaign. At night, the hills and fields of the sparsely populated Bourbon
County glimmered with torches as far as the eye could see, as smaller cells of hundreds
gathered simultaneously around bonfires to hear rousing sermons by any one of dozens of
preachers until the late hours. Spiritual fervor was intense. The distant sounds of
revival were heard in every direction from the bonfire gatherings. The hollows and ridges
echoed with the barely audible, medley of preaching, repentant weeping and joyful praises.
This was typical of the great American revival spawned through prayer, which restored
America’s spiritual soul and brought God’s blessing for about a hundred years. Yes, today America looks hopeless. It appears morally and
spiritually bankrupt. But as we have discovered, there is always hope if God’s people
will come together and pray. God has salvaged our nation before, and can do it again. As
Matthew Henry once wrote, “When God intends great mercy for his people, he first of
all sets them praying.” Let’s not give up on America, but let us embrace God’s
great promise of prayer: He said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will
I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron.
7:14). This article (VL-125) is copyrighted © by Dale A. Robbins, 1995, and is a publication of Victorious Publications, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Unless otherwise stated, all scripture references were taken from The New King James Bible, © Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982. You may download this article for personal use as long as you retain credit to the author. Obtain permission before reproducing copies for any reason, by filling out our simple permission form. This writing is also available as an attractive tri-fold pamphlet, which can be downloaded for reproduction from our Online Catalog. For media reproduction rights, or to obtain quantities of this title in other formats, email us. Return to the Victorious Network
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oday we face what seems to be a hopeless
condition in America. Gross immorality has engulfed the land. Crime has taken over the
streets. Sexual promiscuity and perversion fills our society. Drunkenness and drug abuse
is everywhere. God has been rejected by most of our citizens -- virtually kicked out of
our government and our schools. A few years ago, Billy Graham issued a profound warning,
that “If God doesn’t soon bring judgment upon America, He’ll have to go
back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”