Revival. It is what many believers are hungry for more of. Looking at past revivals provides us with a context for how God is still moving in the earth today. Read on to learn 3 facts about the Azusa Street Revival of the 1900’s.
It Invigorated a Fire for The Holy Spirit
Believers from all streams and denominations were attending the worship and prayer events of the Azusa Street Revival. Famously, it established Pentecostalism as we know it today. Many were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues as a result of the services attended. Holy singing filled the meetings as heavenly songs broke out among attendees.
It Followed a Huge Natural Disaster
On the morning of April 18, 1906, a deadly earthquake shook the San Francisco area, marking it as one of the worst in American history. Less than a week later, William Seymour arrived in California from Houston, TX eager to preach on the gifts of the spirit, particularly tongues.
It Caught Secular Media Outlets Attention
Reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Azusa Street Revival was not limited to the experiences of the attendees present. News anchors wrote and recalled the events and moves of the Holy Spirit as they occurred, even criticizing, but nonetheless confirming, how God was moving. The power of God did not stop at influencing news reporters. Missionaries, pastors, and believers came from abroad to encounter the Holy Spirit. Taking their experiences back home, this revival changed the world!
Additional reading on the Azusa Street Revival and it’s impact can be found here.
The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29)