One morning in 1741, Nathan Cole, a Connecticut farmer, heard from a neighbour that George Whitefield, an evangelist from England, would soon be speaking nearby. At this time, a cloud of spiritual hunger had descended on England and America. Whitefield, the Wesley brothers, and American Jonathan Edwards found themselves at the epicenter of a great spiritual awakening.
George Whitefield
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On hearing the news about Whitefield, Cole dropped his tools and ran for his horse, fearing he would be too late to hear the preacher. He and his wife mounted the horse and galloped off. When the horse tired, Cole would dismount and run alongside till he was out of breath then climb back into the saddle. With twelve miles to travel, Cole wrote, “It was as if we were fleeing for our lives.”
When the Coles came within a mile of their destination, they heard “a noise like a low rumbling thunder and found it was the noise of horses coming down the road. A cloud of dust arose into the air over the tops of the hills and trees. No one spoke a word but every one pressed forward in great haste.” When Cole turned and looked towards the river he saw ferry boats crowded with people. “The land and banks over the river looked black with people and horses all along the twelve miles. I saw no man at work in his field.”
When Cole heard Whitefield preach he said it gave him a heart wound. He saw Whitefield as a man "clothed with authority from the Great God." He had believed himself to be a good man, but that day Cole realized his goodness would not save him. He needed Jesus.
What Cole experienced is the same hunger of the spirit that led thousands to follow Jesus around the countryside. They went without food, slept out on the hills, left their homes and work for the sole purpose of hearing Jesus. They listened intently because they experienced the heart wound that Cole described. The teachings of Jesus pierce the soul. They get into the crevices of our spirit. They change us.
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. Luke 5:1
The human soul hasn't changed. We are no different than the people who followed Jesus and those who galloped to hear George Whitfield preach about Jesus. Our souls hunger for God. Money, success, false religions, adventures, and earthly delights can suppress that hunger for a while, but no person or thing can satisfy it. Only Jesus.
When the Spirit of God moves, whether on crowds or on an individual, He causes people to drop everything as Cole did, and run toward Jesus as if their lives depended on Him. Because our lives do depend on Him.
Can revivals like the Great Awakening happen today? Before the awakening, the Christian church was careless and compromising. They weren’t living for God. Weren’t treasuring and obeying His Word. Sound familiar?
A study of any revival shows that prayer is the main precursor to revival. Christians worldwide are right now praying that a desire for God will cause millions to run to Him.
Quoted portions from George Leon Walker, Some Aspects of the Religious Life of New England (New York: Silver, Burnett, and Company, 1897), 89-92.
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1 comment:
Thanks, Rose, for this heart-stirring and heart-warming incident in the lives of this couple among the hundreds of thousands impacted by the ministry of George Whitefield. And yes, much prayer is needed to work the transformation that will save us and our nation from the abysmal down-spiral that seems to have gained so much momentum, already. ~~+~~
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