Revival on the Isle of Lewis By Rev. Duncan Campbell (2)

One evening an old woman 84 years of age and blind had a vision. Now, don’t ask me to explain this vision because I cannot. But strange things happen when God begins to move. And this dear old lady in the vision saw the church of her fathers crowded with young people, crowded with young people. And she saw a strange minister in the pulpit. And she was so impressed by this revelation—because a revelation it was—she sent for the minister and told her story.
The parish minister was a God fearing man, a man that longed to see God working. Oh, he had tried ever so many things to get the youth of the parish interested, but not one single teenager attended the church. That was the situation.
Well, what did this dear old lady to say to him? I’ll tell you she said. “I am sure, Mr. McKay that you are longing to see God working. What about calling your office bearers together and suggest to them that you spend two nights a week waiting upon God. You have tried missions. You have tried special evangelists. Mr. McKay, have you triedGod?” Oh, I tell you. This was a wonderful old woman.
The dear old lady said, “Well, if you do that my sister and I will get on our knees at 10 o’clock on Tuesday, 10 o’clock on Friday and we will wait on our knees until four o’clock in the morning.” I tell you this puts us to shame.
So they went to prayer and I want to mention that they had but one promise from God and that promise they plead. “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” That is God’s promise.
And in their prayers, according to the minister, they would say again and again, “God, you are a covenant keeping God and you must be true to your covenant engagements.” And the praying and the meetings continued for several nights until one night a very remarkable thing happened. There kneeling amongst straw in the barn, in the barn of a farm house when suddenly one young man rose and read part of Psalm 24.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy
place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up
his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing
from the LORD
And he shut his Bible. And then looking down at the minister and at the other men who were kneeling there he said this. Rather crude words, not so crude in Gaelic, but this is what he said. “Brethren, it seems to me just so much humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God.” Oh, my dear brethren, let’s take that to heart. He began to pray. “God, are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” And that dear man got no farther. He fell on his knees and then on his face among the straw and within a matter of minutes three of the elders fell into a trance.
Now, please don’t come to me at the end of this meeting and ask me what I really mean by men falling into a trance. I cannot answer that question. All that I know is this that when that happened in the barn...now it happened in the Jonathan Edwards revival. Remember that. Not peculiar by any means to Lewis. It happened in America. It happened in the ’59 revival in Wales. Not the 1900 revival, but the ’59 revival. But this I can say. The moment that that happened in the barn a power was let lose in Barvas that shook the whole of Lewis. I say shook Lewis.
God stepped down. The Holy Spirit began to move among the people. And the minister writing about what happened on the following morning said this, “You met God on
So he meekly obeyed and said, “Yes, I will call the session together and I will suggest that we meet on Tuesday night and Friday night and we will spend the whole night in prayer.” I tell you, dear people, here were men that meant business.