Evan Roberts- Do It Again Lord- His Motivation
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and n My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
Joel 2: 28-29
These two verses have inspired many to pray for revival, and as believers inspired by the Holy Spirit have asked, Heaven has responded with many wonderful seasons of refreshing. In Zechariah, we are told:
“Ask the Lord for the rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.”
Zechariah 10: 1
We think of revival as something that the Lord is resistant to and only reluctantly gives, yet the opposite is true. Historically, as His people have humbled themselves and prayed, He has wonderfully answered with a deluge from Heaven.
Evan Roberts explained:
“This message of Love is that which has already attracted so many to Christ in Wales, and if this be sufficiently realized and emphasized, He will continue to ‘draw men’ – to arouse the churches and to save souls- so that the revival, of which we are merely opening the floodgates, will sweep over our own country, and thence from ‘the isles’ to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
Evan Roberts would have a series of visions as he gave himself to prayer that he interpreted as confirmation a revival was coming. In one of his visions he saw hell, and he heard a voice “Here would you be but for grace.”1
Until we fully appreciate the depth of His mercy towards us and we are broken by His love, we can’t effectively pray for the lost. Evan in the same article, explained another vision in which, ‘he found himself weighed in a vast scale. Christ held it, and his sins almost weighed him down when the love of Christ rescued him by righting the balances.”1
No wonder Evan saw the revival from the perspective of the Master’s love and he understood prayer changed everything. Evan Roberts added:
“To have this brought about soon must be our prayer, so that Jesus Christ may see the effects of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, and God may be glorified.”
After the revival ended, Roberts was interviewed, and he stated “he dislikes what he calls the mercilessness of crowds.”2
Many want to be a part of something God is doing, but sadly so many believers refuse to be made in the Secret Place by the Lord. The Lord longs to transform us and give us a heart for His people. If He can capture us with a vision for revival so that we will become hungry and seek His face, then he can begin to go a mighty work in us, that He might work through us.
Evan Robert, as he did so often in the revival meetings, would stop the singing. In one such meeting on Saturday, April 8th, 1905, Evan stopped the singing and explained: “cleaning”3 had to be done first before they could sing. We quickly follow the program and not the leading of the Holy Spirit. We want revival, but are we willing to allow the Holy Spirit to mess with our plans? Our worship should come as an outflow from our hearts. We seek to use worship to lead us in, instead of the Holy Spirit and prayer.
“But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore…”
John 21: 4
The disciples were seeking their place after the Resurrection but before the Day of Pentecost had come. We see them go off fishing because they know how to fish. But all their efforts failed. Oh, how our efforts with the Holy Spirit fail and leave us empty. But Jesus is always waiting to meet with us if we will come. Oh, we need to meet with Him, and we must meet with Him. Otherwise, our efforts may have the form but will lack the power.
Evan Roberts explained:
‘Revival or judgment.”
Surely, those words ring true for us today. The cup is almost full and judgment is pending, but will we HUMBLE ourselves and repent? If we are willing to humble ourselves, then we let go of the reigns and allow Him to have His way.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Psalm 30: 5
Are we willing to linger and give Heaven no rest until the Lord moves? Or do we live in an instant society where we expect instant results, and if we don’t see them instantly, we quit and assume it must not be God’s will? Previous generations gave themselves prayer especially when they recognized what was truly at stake and they got a glimpse of the heart of the Father.
Evan Roberts marked very boldly in his Bible:
“If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7: 14
No matter what nation we find ourselves in, can we say that we don’t need Him to heal our land? But we hold massive prayer rallies, and yet nothing happens. First, we must recognize we are His people and therefore must come as His people. We must see the blood that redeemed us and lifted us from judgment due us, and then we must see no ma anymore according to the flesh. But we must be controlled by His love, and as a consequence, we come and humble ourselves before Him. We recognize He is perfectly right and we are wrong.
Evan Roberts wrestled in prayer for years, longing to see the ‘power.” When we look at the revival services, they were a continuance of Evan’s prayer life. He would remain laboring in prayer until he felt the burden lifted from his soul.
“He completely broke down, falling on pulpit desk in a violent and prolonged paroxysm, crying, groaning, and sobbing. While he was prostrated in the pulpit prayers and heart-stirring appeals burst out all over the chapel, the whole congregation weeping.”4
Just prior to the revival, Evan saw a vision in which he was back at his home church in Loughor, and the youth were gathered and were appealing to him to come and teach them the way of life. He responded:
“I shook my head impatiently, and strove to drive away the vision, but it always came back. And I heard a voice in my inward ear as plain as anything saying” ‘Go and speak to these people.’ And for a long time I would not. But the pressure became greater and greater, and I could hear nothing of the sermon. Then at last I could resist no longer, and I said, ‘Well, Lord, if it is Thy will I will go.’ Then instantly the vision vanished.”
The call almost pursues us and won’t let go and all the while it grows in us. It gets louder in us, and all the while, it changes us. We are prepared for the call in this season. Just as a bird must break through the egg, so too we must press through and be transformed. For revival is all about the heart and until our hearts are wrecked and broken by His love, then we can’t carry the message of His love.
Then when all seemed to fail, but Evan refused to quit that the revival finally broke out. The Father is looking for those who are committed and won’t quit.
Evan Roberts’ messages were simple:
“He appealed for the belief which would prompt them to give their whole heart to Christ, the belief that would drive out devils and bring in angels.”5
Evan passionately preached:
“I love Jesus. Boys of the Rhondda, won’t you, too , confess Him? Oh, confess Him; do something for Him.”
- Dublin Daily Express. “The Welsh Revival Evan Roberts Visions. Monday January 2nd, 1905, page 6
- Gloucester Journal. Evan Roberts and Revivals. Sat 10, September 1910, page 1
- Liverpool Echo. The Welsh Revival Young People’s Meeting. Sat, April 8, 1905 page 4
- Halifax Evening Courier. The Welsh Revival Dramatic Scene at Evan Roberts’s Meeting. Monday 30, January, 1905. Page 2
- South Wales Daily news. “Welsh Revivalism Mr Evan Roberts in the North.” Friday, Dec 8, 1905. Page 6