RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

There are some places in this world that just cause you to be awe struck when you see them. There is such a place that’s one of my favorite places to visit. I am not speaking about the Eiffel tower in Paris or the Great Wall in China. I’m talking about the small village of Kells in Northern Ireland. Every time I travel there, I take time out to visit this small village.

You may be wondering what makes Kells so significant. You’ve probably never even heard of it. Kells only has one main street and a few buildings. It’s in the middle of nowhere. That’s what’s so incredible about this small town. Over one hundred years ago, two Bible teachers were discouraged because no one seemed to be interested in studying the Scriptures. They began meeting in a schoolhouse to pray for people to come to Christ. It wasn’t long before fifty people came to Christ as a direct result of their prayers. The word began to spread across Northern Ireland about the movement of God’s Spirit. The wind of the Spirit began blowing across the nation, and it was reported that ten thousand people gathered in the botanical garden in Belfast and prayed all night.

As prayer meetings spread throughout the nation, they were followed by a great harvest of souls. Over one million people turned to Christ throughout Britain. The great pastor in London, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, said that the year was the greatest evangelistic harvest of his ministry. God shook a nation because two men in a little village prayed. That’s why it such an awesome experience every time I go to that small village. In a day of high-powered technology, I am reminded that the source of hope for our nation lies in common, everyday praying men and women. It’s not necessarily the big cities or the important people that will turn our nations around. It may be the little people who understand that they have a big God. It’s those people who understand why Zechariah asked the question “For who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10, NASB)  It was after that question that he wrote that it’s “‘not by might nor by power but by My Spirit’ says the Lord.” Yes, it’s often the small places and unknown people that God uses to confound the wise.