REVIVAL IN THE HEBRIDES

When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying. ~Matthew
Henry
It is Gods will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great
principal means of carrying on the designs of Christs kingdom in the world. When God has something
very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary
prayers of His people; as is manifest by Ezekiel 36:37, and it is revealed that, when God is about to
accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and
supplication (see Zechariah 12:10 ).
~Jonathan Edwards
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and
supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Zechariah 12:10
The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies,
prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when
we pray.
~Samuel Chadwick
In 1949 the Spirit of grace and supplication fell upon a congregation in the village of Arnol, on the Isle of
Lewis in the Scottish Hebrides.
They prayed for revival.
Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, LORD,
and grant us Your salvation. Psalm 85:6-7
O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in
wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2
Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down! That the mountains might shake at Your
presence! Isaiah 64:1
One night they crowded into the home of the blacksmith a smith named Smith but the spiritual
atmosphere was dry. A sense of deadness prevailed as one after another tried to break through in prayer.
Duncan Campbell, a visiting evangelist, called on Mr. Smith to pray.
The prayer was short and sharp: O God, You made a promise to pour water upon him that is thirsty and
floods upon the dry ground, and, Lord, its not happening. He paused and then continued in a rising
voice: Lord, I do not know how Mr. Campbell or these other men stand with You, but if I know my own
heart, I know that I am thirsty. You have promised to pour water on him who is thirsty. If You dont do it,
how can I ever believe You again? Your honor is at stake. You are a covenant-keeping God. Fulfill Your
covenant engagement!

At that instant the granite house shook like a leaf (Acts 4) and a Power was unleashed that swept the
entire parish. Campbell said, I could only stand in silence as wave after wave of Divine power swept
through the house, and in a matter of minutes following this heaven-sent visitation, men and women were
on their faces in distress of soul. He stepped outside and discovered that the whole village was astir.
Though it was 11 oclock at night, people with lanterns and flashlights were making their way along the
roads and across the fields toward the nearby meeting hall! The meeting continued till sunrise.
Next day the looms were silent and work stopped. Everywhere people were gathered in groups,
discussing this strange invasion from heaven. Spontaneous prayer meetings took place in homes and on
the streets. The newly converted exhorted the unconverted to make peace with God. Each day and night
more and more were added to the kingdom of God.
You met God on meadow and moorland, said the parish minister. You met Him in the homes of the
people. God seemed to be everywhere.
Or as another observer put it, The Lamb of God took the field and the forces of darkness were routed!
Campbell said, God came down, the mountains flowed down at His presence, and a wave of revival
swept the village: opposition and spiritual death fled before the presence of the Lord of life. Here was
demonstrated the power of prevailing prayer, and that nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that
which lies outside the will of God.
A fifteen year old convert named Donald displayed extraordinary power in prayer and became a frequent
companion of Duncan Campbell. (Teenagers often play a prominent role in revival, as was the case in the
great Welsh Revival of 1904-5.)
On the island of Bernera, Campbell was preaching at a communion service but sensed strong opposition
by the forces of darkness and struggled through his message. Seeing Donald on the front pew, bowed
down under the burden for lost souls, he leaned over the pulpit and said, Donald, will you lead us in
prayer?
The lad rose to his feet, and his prayer made reference to the fourth chapter of Revelation: O God, I
seem to be gazing through the open door. I see the Lamb in the midst of the throne, with the keys of death
and of hell at His girdle. He began to sob; then lifting his eyes toward heaven cried, O God, there is a
power there, let it loose! With the force of a hurricane the Spirit of God swept into the building and the
floodgates of heaven opened. The church resembled a battlefield. On one side people were prostrated over
the seats weeping and sighing; on the other side some were affected by throwing their arms in the air in a
rigid posture. God had come.
The spiritual impact of this visitation was felt throughout the island; people hitherto indifferent were
suddenly arrested and became deeply anxious. The contributor of an article to the local press wrote,
More are attending the weekly prayer-meetings than attended public worship on the Sabbath before the
revival.

II
The evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said, The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the coronation of the Lord
Jesus in the life of the believer. Revival is the coronation of the Lord Jesus in His church.
So revival is the baptism of the Holy Spirit on a corporate scale. It is not necessary to adjudicate between
the many conflicting doctrines of Spirit-baptism. It is enough to consider the simple scripture narrative:
John the Baptist said, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose
sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His
winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the
wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." Luke 3:16
The Resurrected Christ said, John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days hence." Acts 1:5
Not many days thence, the promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost:
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole
house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat
upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men,
from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and
were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own languageSo they were all amazed
and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" Others mocking said, "They
are full of new wine."
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all
who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as
you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet
Joel:
'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.

And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles,
wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know-- Him,
being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless
hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death,
because it was not possible that He should be held by it
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-47
From these passages we see that revival is an adumbration of the Day of the Lord.
Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty.
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
For the DAY OF THE LORD of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up
And it shall be brought low
The loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that Day. Isaiah 2:10-17
The LORD alone will be exalted in that day! An ancient Jewish parable tells that in the Day of the Lord
the sword will pass neck-high: those who are standing tall will be mown down like grass; those who are
on their knees will live.
For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15
Revival begins with repentance; it begins with the contrite ones.
Before the Hebrides Revival began, two elderly sisters and seven men in the town of Barvas covenanted
to pray each Tuesday and Friday from 10 at night until 4 in the morning.

One evening, after hours of prayer, a young deacon stood and read from Psalm 24: 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; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the
blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Brethren, he said, it seems to me so much humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as
we are waiting, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God. He raised his hands and prayed, God, are
my hands clean? Is my heart pure? He got no further. The Spirit descended, and the men fell prostrate
under the power of God. Everyone present was filled with the conviction that revival is inextricably
linked with personal holiness.
Within days, the entire parish was gripped by an awareness of Gods presence.
Here, says Duncan Campbell, is a scene witnessed during the first days of the movement: a crowded
church, the service is over: the congregation, reluctant to disperse, stand outside the church in a silence
that is tense. Suddenly a cry is heard within: a young man, burdened for the souls of his fellow men, is
pouring out his soul in intercession. He prays until he falls into a trance and lies prostrate on the floor of
the church. But Heaven had heard, and the congregation, moved by a power that they could not resist,
came back into the church, and a wave of conviction of sin swept over the gathering, moving strong men
to cry to God for mercy. This service continued until the small hours of the morning, but so great was the
distress and so deep the hunger which gripped men and women, that they refused to go home, and already
were assembling in another part of the parish. An interesting and amazing feature of this early morning
visitation was the number who made their way to the church, moved by a power they had not experienced
before: others were deeply convicted of their sin and crying for mercy, in their homes, before ever coming
near the church.
III
A.W. Tozer said, If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do
would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New
Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.
E.M. Bounds said, What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations
or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use men of prayer, men mighty in
prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on
machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men men of prayer.
But that is the wisdom of past ages. The wisdom of this age of religious industrialism was aptly
summarized by the Coca-Cola advertising executive who engineered Campus Crusades I Found It!
campaign. He stated, "Back in Jerusalem when the Church started, God performed a miracle there on the
Day of Pentecost. They didn't have the benefit of buttons and media, so God had to do a little supernatural
work there. But today, with our technology, we have available to us the opportunity to create the same
kind of interest in a secular society."
An example of what happens when we try to replace the Holy Spirit with our technology was seen a
few years back at a Southern California megachurch. The church was famous for its awesome Christmas
Cantatas. So one year, organizers planned an especially magnificent yuletide extravaganza. At the

crescendo of the Living Christmas Tree performance an angel would soar over the congregation and
alight gracefully atop the Tree! Unable to secure the services of an angel, they hired a special effects
company to string cables over the sanctuary and drafted an amateur stuntman to do the job. It went off
well enough in rehearsal, but on opening night, the cable apparatus went haywire and the angel jerked to a
halt in the middle of the sanctuary and started spinning around, faster and faster till he was whirling at an
alarming rate! The angel began screaming and cursing, then vomited on the congregation. The Living
Christmas Tree bulbs kept singing (albeit with dismayed countenances) as the multitude stampeded out
the doors.
Contrast that silliness with these testimonies from the Hebrides Revival:
William MacLeod: Then, exactly one week before Christmas, it happened. God spoke to my heart and I
surrendered my life to HimWhen I woke up the next morning, I was at peace and everything was new
to me. The whole world seemed new! I found myself pouring my heart out to God. I had always said my
prayers, but now I was praying! Joy welled up within me a joy that was beyond explanation. This was
one of the unspeakable gifts which we as the Lords people had at that time this indescribable and
overwhelming joy. Another result of the revival was the boldness which we all had; boldness to witness,
to rejoice, and with it freedom to tell whoever was listening that we had given our lives to Christ.
Catherine Campbell: The meeting was mighty and I was overwhelmed with conviction. As I came out of
the meeting I just fell on my knees outside the door. I didnt care who was around. That night I came to
ChristAfter the meetings we would make a circle on the street, holding hands and singing at the top of
our voices. It was heaven on earth. Everything was made new.
Margaret MacLeod: And the singing! It was simply glorious. It was almost supernatural, full of joy and
spiritual power.
Mary Peckham: When the people sang, oh the shivers chased themselves up and down my spine. I had
never heard singing like this. The words rose to heaven in a power that could only be sensed but not
described. The singing was fire! It went right through you.
Norman Campbell: After the meal we went to the bus, and just as we approached the vehicle, suddenly a
light like the brightness of the sun, on this dark night, shone around us. I looked up to see where the light
was coming from and I saw the face of Christ. That was where the light was coming from His face! I
shall never forget it! It was like the sun, just like the sun! And the joy on that face; and the love reflected
from that face! I cannot explain nor describe it. Then He said, I love you, and the you was plural,
meaning all of you. I was simply flooded with inexpressible joy and seemed to be afloat on an ocean of
love.
Margaret MacDonald: A group of us converts were walking together with linked arms. I saw a light at
my feet and at last said, What is this light I see on the ground? We looked behind us and the light was
there. We looked up and it seemed as if the sky was split open and we were encircled in this light.
Everyone in the group saw it.
Mary Peckham: The minister closed in prayer, and in that prayer he quoted a scripture that I knew very
well, and as he quoted it I was transported to the place called Calvary. The word he quoted was, He was

wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace
was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed.
It suddenly fell on my ears as the sweetest sound I had ever heard. God applied it to my heart. As I gazed
at the crucified Jesus I heard the words, With His Stripes You Are Healed! I felt the healing balm of
Calvary go through my whole being. Nobody needed to tell me. The Spirit of God through the Word of
God witnessed with my spirit that, miracle of miracles, I was a child of God! Oh, the thrill of it! What I
had despaired of ever receiving was now mine as God applied the Scriptures to my heart. Yes, I was His,
and His love and glory flooded my being.
Tears gushed down my face, and I knew suddenly I knew that by His stripes I was healed. I was
forgiven. I was free. I didnt know the terminology. I didnt know how to put it into words, but I knew
that it was done.
IV
Excerpt from Sounds from Heaven: The Revival on the Isle of Lewis 1949-52, by Colin and Mary
Peckham
Why have these places been so favored? Why has the Lord been pleased to shower His blessings on these
remote parts? Why? Because they prayed! They prayed expectantly; they prayed persistently; they prayed
whole-heartedly; they prayed believingly. They learned to pray as they prayed. The Holy Spirit has taught
them in their praying. They have come to learn the secret of pressing into the courtroom of heaven and of
touching the throne. They have waited upon God! As Margaret MacLeod so strikingly said of the
Christians of the Barvas area, It was a community at prayer.
Because they have come to know the secret of humility, of seeking the Lord, of depending on Him to
work, of importunately laying hold of Him, of passionately pleading with Him. God heard from heaven
and came to them, forgiving their sin and healing their land.
They had known revival and they knew how it came. It came, not by organizing, by programs, by games
evenings, but by prayer and they prayed; it came by soul travail and they travailed.
Of course, God is sovereign in revival. He comes to us in His own time and as He wills. But He has given
us principles. He has left us instructions to follow. He said, Pray! He said, I will build the ruined
places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the
Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. Ezekiel 36:3637
In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we have the classic verse where we are exhorted to humble ourselves, pray, seek
Gods face, turn from our wicked ways, and He will forgive us and heal our land. In Isaiah 64:1 we read,
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might
flow down at thy presence. The psalmist prays Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may
rejoice in thee? Psalm 85:6 We read: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up
your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Hos 10:12 O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it
known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2 Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be

full, John 16:24 says Jesus, and again, If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. John 14:14
We are to pray! These are Gods specific, unalterable instructions.
Yet, it is not an easy thing to pray. There is a price to be paid, a price of curbed freedom, of resolute
concentration, of agonizing supplication. Prayer is the acid test of devotion. To stay in the presence of
God and to wait upon Him, baring your soul to His searching gaze, costs everything. The one who prays
must be transformed. Prayer must make him holier, purer, more Christ-like. Prayer is a purifying medium.
In prayer we get to know God, and the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
Daniel 11:32 From the place of prayer Samuel Chadwicks great words ring out, Men ablaze are
invincible. Hell trembles when men kindle.
We have the supreme example of the Lord Jesus as One who prayed. He prayed in the night Mark 1:35 so
that He might have undisturbed communion. He prayed before His public ministry, Luke 3:21-22 before
an evangelistic tour, Mark 1:35,38 before choosing His twelve disciples, Luke 6:12-13 before the great
revelation of His death, Luke 9:18-22 after the great achievement of feeding the 5000, John 6:15 before
the simplest affairs of life, Matthew 14:19 when He was busy, Luke 5:15-16 when He was weary, Mark 6:
45-46 and in the last moments of His life. Luke 23:34 The life of Jesus was a life of prayer. If Jesus
needed to pray, how much more do we!