We now turn our eyes to Cardinganshire, to a little village called New Quay, lying on the fringe of Cardigan BayWith Christ in the School of Prayer, greatly
influenced his life at this time. He was greatly burdened about the
indifference among all Christians around him and concerned also about
the apathy of his own young people in the church. He called the young
people before him and talked seriously and earnestly to them about
obeying the Spirit. This was in the early part of the year 1904. and 15
miles from a railway station. Here the Lord had been quietly preparing
instruments for the coming awakening. The Rev. Joseph Jenkins had been
deeply concerned about the absence of pathos in his own voice when
preaching, and he desperately sought a deeper life in Christ. Dr.
Andrew Murray's book,
Every outpouring of the Spirit is preceded by earnest, agonizing
intercession, accompanied by a heart-brokenness and humiliation before
God. This is followed by a recognition and honoring of the blessed
Spirit. Pastors and flock alike in their churches are deeply concerned
about the terrible discrepancy between the heart-stirring in the Book
of Acts and the present-day condition of the church. So it was in the
little principality ofWales before the month of November 1904.
The first known outburst of the work of God in connection with the
revival in Wales took place, strange to say, in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
where a Welsh pastor with a thriving church was thrilling his audiences
with his fine oratory and intellect. Suddenly, this popular preacher
was broken down before God to see that he was not a true prophet of the
New Testament type.
Another characteristic of true revival is that the Lord Jesus Christ,
Himself, is the center of the attraction: -- "It was noised that HE was
in the house." If the evangelist or the evangelistic party is the
center of the attraction, then the work is of the flesh and not of God.
