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J n 1 ! WONDERFUL SCENES AT SCHOOL VjTCdt JxCVWUI HI CJjICUgP : FOUNDED BY DWIGHT L. MOODY. By GEORGE T. B. DAVIS. NDER the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, without any human leader, a glorious revival has broken out in Chi cago. At several centers God’s Spirit has fallen upon the people with power, but at the Moody Bible Institute scenes have just occurred which recall the most stirring days of the Welsh awak ening. Many in the western metropo- U lis are convinced that this wave of blessing marks the beginning of a revival which will shake the city as perhaps never before in its history. For weeks the students in the Bible Institute have felt an increasing burden of prayer for themselves and for the salvation of Chicago, and the spiritual fervor has been constantly increasing. Finally a week ago scores of students remained in prayer un til 2a. m. God heard and answered their cries, and the next day the power fell, and for hours there was such praying, confessing and weeping as made the long-prayed-for revival a reality, ' and made those who witnessed it stand in awe at the wonder ful working of the Holy Ghost. Let me give an account of the revival in detail as it was told me by Mr. A. W. Hoffman, a student from Pennsylvania, who was one of the active participants in the awakening, as we sat in the Institute a few days after the first manifestation of power. The Monday Night Prayer Meetings. When I asked Mr. Hoffman how the fire fell, and what seemed to be the cause of it, he said: “For some time a Monday night prayer meeting 'had been held in one of the students’ rooms, but last Monday night two meetings were held on each floor of the building. Almost every male student was on his knees. As the blessing came upon one prayer meeting the boys would go to another room to carry the good tidings. It seemed as if the students couldn’t stop praying and some of the meetings continued until 2 o’clock in the morning. “On Tuesday morning you could feel the presence of the Spirit in the atmosphere all over the Insti tute. Everyone was rejoicing and telling of the wonderful meetings of the night before. The stu dents w T ere so full of fervor that they almost broke out into prayer and praise at the nine o’clock hour. “But at eleven o’clock when Professor William Evans came into the lecture hall to give a doctrinal test, after the first song he called on a couple of the students to lead in prayer. As they prayed the Spirit just seemed to come down, especially upon the men. As soon as the prayers ended one of the men started a song and the Professor saw at once that something unusual had happened. He stepped over to Professor Trowbridge, who was leading the singing, and said: ‘What has come upon the stu dents?’ Professor Trowbridge said: ‘I don’t know except that they had a lot of prayer meetings last night.’ “As the prayers continued Professor Evans saw that it would be impossible to proceed with the lecture and saying, ‘Men, there will be no lecture today,’ sat down, while the prayer and song went on. “The women who were at the lecture could not at first understand what had happened. Then as they realized the work of the Spirit, one of them stood up and with the tears running down her cheeks, said. ‘Oh, men, pray that we too may get this bles ing!’ This sent a new wave of fervor over the au dience. “After this the students began to stand up and confess their sins, while many began going to each other, and asking forgiveness for injuries or harsh words, or words of criticism. Sometimes as many as eight or ten -were on their feet at once doing this. The women too went to each other and throwing their arms about one another and weeping, they asked forgiveness for wrongs. All this time the men were kneeling in little groups or by each other straightening out old accounts. Several were pray- The Golden Age for November 15, 1906. ing aloud at once in different parts of the room. “But some were present who were not getting the blessing. They would stand up, and with the tears running down their faces, would ask the oth ers to pray that they too might receive the Spirit and the victory over sin. Then with one consent the students would start and pray for this one. In a little time he or she would be standing up testifying with shining face that the blessing had been re ceived. “It was the turning point in the lives of many of the students. Some declared they had been holding back from going as missionaries, but were now de termined to go. Others said they would'pay old debts.” Mr. Hoffman told me especially of one student who was rescued from a life of sin and worldliness only a few months ago, and recently had grown cold and fallen out of touch with the other students. He continued: “At first this man did not know what to make of the occurrence. He was disgusted with it and was on the point of leaving the room, when some of the students went over and knelt beside him. In a few moments he was down on his knees, praying and weeping. Presently he stood up, and still weeping testified that he had been in many a fight but this had been the hardest of his life, but 'he had obtained the victory! No Recess for Dinner. “The twelve o’clock bell rang to stop the lecture but the prayer and praise went right on. The dinner bell rang at 12:30 but not one of the stu dents went to the meal. As the meeting proceeded several stenographers came in from the Institute office and one of them asked prayers for the people employed there that they too might receive the baptism of the Spirit. The janitor also came into the meeting, while the cook and the laundress stood in ihe doorway wondering at the scent. “At two o’clock, three hours after the meeting began, Professor Evans endeavored to dismiss it by pronouncing the benediction. But a large number of the students stayed on and prayed and sang till five o’clock. At 5:30 the noon meal was served. But at S p. m. another prayer meeting was started in the basement and continued until ten o’clock, when it was stopped by one of the professors, on the ground that the students required rest after such a day on the mountain top.” A Day of Pentecost. It was surely a pentecostal time when the stu dents were led to spend eight hours in almost con tinuous prayer and praise and confession. And, thank God, that day was only the beginning of the movement. Mr. Hoffman told me that he went into the Institute a day or two later, and there were twenty-five men on their knees in prayer right in the hallway. He declared that the best part of the revival was the practical result that followed the first outpouring of the Spirit. As on the day of Pentecost, the work resulted in the salvation of souls. The student continued his narrative saying: “The best part of the meetings has been the fruit borne by them. Thursday afternoon a num ber of the students felt led to secure a room in Moody’s Church, opening on Chicago avenue, and then to go out on the street and conduct open-air meetings at different points. And as they did this they seemed to have greater power than ever before to lead men to Christ. While some were on the street conducting the meetings, others were in the room praying for them, and others were walking the street inviting people into church. Personal Work in the Streets. “Several street meetings were held just as the workmen were coming out of the shops at the close of the day’s work. Though it was cold and blus tering the men seemed held by an Unseen Power. Some of the students knelt with the men they dealt with right on the streets and on the sidewalks. As I myself came along the street on my way back from a shop meeting, I saw a colored man polish ing a stove in front of a secondhand store. I felt led to speak to him. He told me he had felt that he ought to be a Christian for a long time but did not know how. I told him the way and in about ten minutes the man said he would accept Christ as his Savior. We would have knelt in prayer on the sidewalk, but the man’s employer was watching him and he could not stop his work. He grasped my hand warmly as I left and said: ‘I appreciate this thing of you stoppin’ on the street, and tell in’ me how to be a Christian.’ ” It is estimated that on that Thursday afternoon there were at least fifteen people saved as the-result of the spontaneous efforts of the students on the streets, obeying the scriptural injunction to “go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in.” Each day the students in the women’s department of the Institute are also bringing in glorious reports of souls saved in their missions and in their personal work on the streets and street cars. Mr. Hoffman concluded his account of the awak ening by declaring that he considered it only the beginning of a wonderful movement in the Insti tute and throughout the city. He says that a spir it of prayer, such as he never before witnessed, con tinues in the school day by day. The news of the awakening has spread rapidly over Chicago so that former students, hearing how the fire has fallen, are coming back to get the blessing. Already the flame has spread to Moody’s Church, or rather a simultaneous work of grace is in progress there. When I asked Mr. A. F. Gaylor, business manager of the Institute, about the revival, I found his heart was filled to overflowing with gratitude to God for it. He said: “I thank God that it is not the work of any man. It is all of the Lord. To him be all the glory.” An Answer to Prayer. He told me how the same little company of peo ple that prayed Saturday nights for a world wide revival, and whose prayers had finally result ed in Dr. Torrey’s tour of the world, had been praying for two years for a revival in the Insti tute, and at last it had come, their prayers being gloriously answered. In speaking of lhe work in Moody’s Church, he said: “The movement has spread to Moody’s Church. At the prayer meeting on Thursday night there were four or five praying at once. I have never been in a meeting where the burden of prayer for the city was so great as it was there. I believe the entire city will be moved by the power of God be fore the winter is over.” When I saw Dr. A. C. Dixon, the newly ordained pastor of the Chicago Avenue (or Moody’s) Church, he confirmed the report of the revival there. He said it was simultaneous with the student awaken ing, and that it was a genuine revival without a doubt. He said that never in his life had he felt such power as there was in their recent prayer meet ing. Both pastor and people are so aroused that near the close of this week there will be a large street parade at night followed by a meeting lasting until midnight. Lucy’s Balloon. “I had a young friend,” said Mrs. Kate Upson Clark, of Brooklyn, “who was taken to the cir cus by his father, while his little sister Lucy was left at home. On departure two toy balloons were purchased, one for him and one for sister Lucy. The father was carrying them above the heads of the crowd, floating at the ends of long strings, when one of them exploded. The boy looked up with an agonized expression. Then a look of peace stole over his countenance and he remarked, “It’s too bad Lucy’s balloon’s spoiled, isn’t it?” 3