The 1904–1905 Welsh Revival was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population, and triggered revivals in several other countries. “The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being placed in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America.

– from Wikipedia

The Welsh Revival was birthed in prayer. A blacksmith by the name of Evan Roberts had an encounter with the Lord and uttered his famous prayer, ” Lord, BEND ME!” With that prayer – it revival spread like a wildfire. It started with a handful of people but in November 1904, all heaven broke loose because one man wanted to be bended and used by God.

Within a year it was estimated that 100,000 people had come to Christ. People stopped drinking, men stopped cursing, young men started singing worship songs. There was zero crime. The Lord was literally the God of the City.

What was amazing is that it wasn’t Evan Roberts who was the center of attention. It was God. It was the Holy Spirit using ordinary men to bring revival in their city. Godly men before Evan Roberts were evangelizing and praying fervently for God to come in Wales. They were preparing for the move of God even before it happened.

At the age of 26, Evan Roberts was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

In his own account, he wrote “After many had prayed, i felt some living energy or force entering into my bosom; it held my breath; my legs trembled terribly; this living energy increased and increased as one after the other prayed until it nearly burst me…. I cried – “Bend me, bend me, bend me; Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!… What came to mind after this was, the bending in the day of judgment. Then I was filled with sympathy for the people who will have to bend in judgment day, and I wept. Afterwards the salvation of souls weighed heavily on me. I felt on fire for going through the whole of Wales to tell the people about the Saviour.” – taken from Evan Roberts’ Testimony, revival-library.org

In his meetings, Roberts would often share four things:

1. Confess all known sin.

2. Deal with and get rid of anything doubtful in your life.

3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly.

4. Confess Christ publicly.

Simple points but powerful. I pray that as Christian leaders we won’t just make good powerpoint presentations but ask the Spirit to bring power to our preaching that would affect not just individuals but cities and nations. Take time to pray for a Holy Spirit visitation in your church and in your city!