Atmosphere of Expectancy

 Whether you enter the prayer closet or a public worship service, let me ask what is the expectancy level? On a personal level, do you anticipate meeting with God? In public worship gatherings, do those in attendance plan on God encounters? The truth is many have low expectations. They have gone through the religious routines for decades. They do not expect God to do anything out of the ordinary. 

80% of children raised in church leave once they go off to college or enter the work force. I cannot help but believe such people heard about the power of God all their lives, but rarely if ever saw it for themselves. They became bored with the religious rut of stale cold rituals. Over time, the same thing happens to adults. They might not leave the church but they just as bored. 

I read the little phrase, "atmosphere of expectancy," in a book about the 1904 Wales Revival. People worked all day in hard labor back in those days. Starting early. Most of the men worked in the coal mines. They did not use that as an excuse. Many of these same men made their way to chapels and churches for revival meetings in the evenings that lasted well past midnight on many occasions. They kept coming and sacrificing because they expected to see God move and were not disappointed. 

We plan our events. Implement the latest programs. Inundate people with study after study. We go to conferences, take retreats and every so often have a revival meeting. If God truly brought real revival we would see more happen in days than we have seen in decades. People would talk about what God did and news would spread by word of mouth. 

When people came to the houses of God in 1904, then they would come to gatherings with an atmosphere of expectancy. In the Wales revival 100,000 people were saved in just six months. That move of God was supernatural. No man could take credit for it. No program could produce those kind of results. Many people repented of sins. So much so crime rates dropped. Police officers had little to no work to do and actually started quartet singing groups to pass the time. Incredible. 

I have witnessed with my own eyes an atmosphere of expectancy. In the 1990's God broke out in revival at the Brownsville Assembly of God church in Pensacola, FL. I had the privilege of attending several of those services. Two things stand out to me from those visits. The first is the fact that people stood in line all day in the hot summer sun in humid Florida waiting to get into the service that night. Thousands of people waited in line. They believed God would meet with them in those services. The doors opened at 6:00 p.m. Within minutes the 1,500 seat sanctuary filled to capacity and overflow rooms had to be set up. 

As the revival continued for years some of the rules changed. They opened the parking lot at 6:00 am. for people to form lines to get inside. No longer could be people spend the night in parking lot. The doors did not open until 6:00 p.m. and the services did not start until 7:00 p.m. I arrived once at 6:00 a.m. and saw dozens and dozens of people in line ahead of our group willing to wait 12 hours just to get into a worship service. I have never seen anything like it. 

The second thing that stuck out to me in that revival is a simple banner that hung on the wall just off the stage in the sanctuary. The banner simply had two words written on it, "More Lord." They hungered for more of God even though it is reported hundreds of thousands of people were saved in that revival. It lasted for five years. It is reported that over 4 million people walked through the doors of that church during those revival years.  It all started with a series of Sunday evening prayer meetings and was sustained by Tuesday night prayer meetings at the height of the revival. 

I have written before revival is costly. Imagine having five straight years of revival services five nights a week. They eventually took Monday off to rest and used Tuesday for prayer meetings. Picture all the people who served as ushers, counselors, worship team members, security personnel, people in the nursery, the pastor and staff, the evangelist. Contemplate the toll of the facilities to run the a/c and heat five to six days a week. Imagine the wear and tear on the carpet from 4 million attenders. Think about the taxing toil on the janitorial staff to keep the facilities clean day after day for five straight years. 

I have been at Spring Creek for two years. Not one time have I seen even one person waiting at the door to get inside for a worship service. There are no lines here. I have preached in churches all over the nation. Not one other time have I seen people lined up to get into a worship service. 

I have read about such a place. It is at the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, NY. They have routinely seen lines of people waiting to get inside one of their multiple Sunday worship services. Why? Because God works there powerfully and the people expect it. They pray for it at Tuesday night prayer meetings. Well over a thousand people attend those prayer meetings. If your church had one, could you get two dozen people to attend on a regular basis? That church has grown from 12 to over 10,000. God saves the worst people in society through their ministry. The power of God is regularly on display and people flock to it. They have an atmosphere of expectancy.  

I have read about another church who experienced this back in the mid 1800's. It happened at the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon. People waited in lines to get into those services. Because they saw or heard about how powerfully God worked through Spurgeon in those services. It was not Spurgeon. It was God working through him. God made the difference and Spurgeon kept people praying for more of God's power. 

I have reported about how God worked powerfully in the past. I have listed one example of God still working powerfully in the present. What I am unsure is if anyone longs for God to do it again? We keep doing the same things over and over again. We also keep getting the same results over and over again. More sermons. More studies. More programs. More gimmicks. Less prayer. Less expectations. 

Is there a congregation who would be willing to suspend status quo services in order to pray for real moves of God that create atmospheres of expectancies? Are there any pastors with the guts and passion to lead their churches away from more meetings to engage in more praying? Would any congregation be willing to suspend just one of their services for a period of six months for sustained prayer to see what God would do? Say the Sunday night service or the Wednesday night service. Maybe God might lead some to do the same for the Sunday morning service to pray. Not to talk about prayer. Not to take endless time discussing prayer requests. Not to have one person pray while everyone else listens. To engage in prayer for the power of God to be poured out among us again. To sustain such prayer meetings for six months. 

We say prayer is important as churches. How much time does the corporate body of Christ devote to praying when we gather? I would suggest very minimal time. We wonder why there is no atmosphere of expectancy and why our young people are leaving the church in droves. What would God do in and through and for a church who would devote six months to focused prayer for revival? History has show us? What will we do with this information? If this resonates with you, I urge you to go to your pastor and suggest your church begin doing this. I would love to hear what God does with you for His glory.