“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” – Acts 17:24
Beginning on February 12th, 2012, all churches in New York City are no longer allowed to lease a public school for their worship services, as a result of Supreme Court decision that upheld a 2nd Court of Appeals ruling that public schools in New York are allowed to refuse rental of their facilities to churches for worship services, even through the schools allow other groups to use their facilities. Thankfully, the above Scripture reminds us that our God does not live in “temples built by hands” but rather “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) Sadly, the Enemy is once again fighting to remove every aspect of Christianity from our Nation that has been built on the spiritual principle of “In God We Trust.” While the court says that it simply prohibits a type of activity such as the “conduct of worship services” and does “not exclude expressions of religious points of view or of religious devotion”, it is illogical to say that the New York City’s rule prohibiting worship services does not violate the First Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits the passage of any law that “impedes the free exercise of religion.”
This irony of this situation goes back to 1857, where Fulton Street in New York City became the hub of a laymen’s revival that resulted in the wide-spreading seeking of God across our nation. Author Edwin Orr’s landmark book entitled, “The Event of the Century: The 1857-1858 Awakening”, describes that in the middle of September of that year, a tall man “with a pleasant face, and affectionate manner. . . shrewd and endowed with much tact and common sense” (pps. 52-53) began passing out handbills that read:
“How Often Shall I Pray? As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of help; as often as I feel the power of temptation; as often as I am made sensible of any spiritual declension, or feel the aggression of a worldly, earthly spirit . . . In prayer, we leave the business of time for that of eternity, and intercourse with God.”
And on the reverse:
“A day Prayer-Meeting is held every Wednesday from 12 to 1 o’clock in the Consistory building of the North Dutch Church, corner of Fulton and William Streets. This meeting is intended to give merchants, mechanics, clerks, strangers and businessmen generally an opportunity to stop and call on God amid the perplexities incident to their respective avocations. It will continue for one hour; but it is designed for those who find it inconvenient to remain more than 5 or 10 minutes, as well as for those who can spare a whole hour. Necessary interruption will be slight, because anticipated. Those in haste often expedite their business engagements by halting to lift their voices to the throne of grace in humble, grateful prayer.” (p.54)
The man was Jeremiah Lanphier, a 48-year old businessman turned lay city missionary, and he was beginning the prayer-meeting on behalf of the North Dutch Reformed Church. Shortly before noon on September 23 he opened the doors of the church. Out of a population of over a million, only one man showed up for the beginning of the meeting — Lanphier!
At 12:30, he heard the footsteps of one man climbing the stairs. Within a few minutes, a total of six men had joined Lanphier to pray. The next Wednesday brought 20; the third week was attended by between 30 and 40 men.
The meetings were so encouraging that it was decided that they should meet daily. The next day, the crowds had again increased. By the following Wednesday, October 14, the day of the (financial) crash, “over 100, many of them not professors of religion but under conviction of sin and seeking an interest in Christ” were attending. (p.54)
By mid-November, the two lecture rooms had to be used, and both were filled. According to Winkie Pratney, within six months time, these noon-time prayer-meetings were attracting over 10,000 businessmen who were “confessing sin, getting saved, [and] praying for revival.” (p.157)
In a two column editorial on March 20, 1857, the New York Times had this to say about the revival:
“The great wave of religious excitement which is now sweeping over this nation, is one of the most remarkable movements since the Reformation . . . Travelers relate that on cars and steamboats, in banks and markets, everywhere through the interior, this matter is an absorbing topic. Churches are crowded; bank-directors’ rooms become oratories; school-houses are turned into chapels; converts are numbered by the scores of thousands. In this City, we have beheld a sight which not the most enthusiastic fanatic for church-observances could ever have hoped to look upon;–we have seen in a business quarter of the City, in the busiest hours, assemblies of merchants, clerks and working-men, to the number of some 5,000, gathered day after day for a simple and solemn worship. Similar assemblies we find in other portions of the City; a theatre is turned into a chapel; churches of all sects are open and crowded by day and night.” (bold emphasis added)
Isn’t it interesting that this revival led some schools in New York to actually stop their classes in the middle of the day because students were seeking God and crying out for mercy? The revival that began in New York was birthed because a few men decided to gather for prayer. At this time of economic and moral crisis here in New York City, it is time for the Church to once again emphasize prayer and crying out to God for His Spirit to once again move in New York City and throughout our land! As the Psalmist states in Psalm 85, verse 6: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” It is my prayer that our commitment to prayer and God’s Word will be the light to once again inspire the men and women of New York City to seek the Truth and be revived from the darkness!
In His Service,
Andrew Smellie