Evan Roberts and

the Welsh revival of 1904

A WORK OF GOD

In the days following the Blaenannerch Conference in September 1904, the compelling power of the Holy Spirit which had been so manifestly revealed at the meetings, filled the life of Evan Roberts to such a degree that he was barely aware of time passing. The hours he spent in Bible study, prayer and worship seemed to be but brief moments as feelings of joy and peace flooded his soul at the thought of what God had in store for him. In a letter to a friend, he wrote, "Before I came to Newcastle Emlyn I thought it would be hard to put aside the long hours of fellowship with God, but I have been pleasantly surprised. If I found pleasure in the exercise before, I now have the purest joy upon earth ... I cannot. tell how happy I feel, because God is at work so powerfully in my life."

Roberts wanted to be ready to launch out whenever God called him and he therefore invited a group of young co-workers from New Quay and Newcastle Emlyn to help in taking the gospel to every part of Wales. At the same time he found that God was graciously preparing him for the tasks ahead and he wrote, "I have received three great blessings: 1. I have lost all nervousness. 2. I can now sing all day whereas before I was hindered by some physical impediment. 3. I had become as hard as flint even though, remember, the supreme desire and sole aim of my life was to serve God - but, praise be to God, at Blaenannerch I was bent low, so low that I had to cry out 'Praise Him!' How easy it is to give thanks now!"

THE POWER OF GOD

It was also during these weeks that Roberts experienced heavenly visions of a mighty in-gathering of souls to the number of one hundred thousand and he was given the assurance of faith to claim this as a promise which God would not deny. Roberts soon began to know yet more of the mighty power of God in his life and ministry. During a meeting at Capel Drindod in Cardiganshire he was deeply constrained that all present should give honour and praise to the Saviour and he poured forth with prayer which transformed the service in such a manner that one of the congregation recalled later, "It burst through to the hearts and consciences of many, Christ was glorified from that moment: it was an extraordinary meeting." For Roberts the experience did not end with the close of the service. He found it was impossible to sleep when he returned his lodgings, and wrote in awe in his journal, "The room was full of the Holy Spirit. The outpouring was so overpowering that I had to shout and plead with God to stay His hand."

Although Roberts was busily occupied with the services in surrounding districts of Cardiganshire, it was the people of his home church at Loughor who were laid on his heart with a conviction which he knew could only be attributed to the Holy Spirit. The time of preparation was over and at the end of October he wrote to his friends in New Quay informing them of his decision; "I am this morning about to return home for a week among the young people. The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit wills it ... I implore you in the name of our Lord Jesus to remember us especially at Moriah, Loughor. Meetings will be held every night for a week. Ask all the young people to remember us."

The prospect of commencing a work amongst his own friends and relations could easily have daunted the young evangelist, but he could not forget the visions of vast multitudes of people rushing towards the never-ending torment of hell while God granted a season of grace during which a hundred thousand would be saved. It was this conviction which sustained Roberts throughout the revival which followed, as he later testified, "Full of the promise which that vision conveyed, I went to Loughor, and from Loughor to Aberdare, and from Aberdare to Pontycymmer. And what did I see. .? The promise literally fulfilled."

The initial doubts and uncertainties which greeted his return home were not easily overcome but Roberts secured the co-operation of the ministers at Moriah and Pisgah in Loughor and at Libanus in Gorseinon to hold a week of meetings in their churches. From the start he stressed that the experiences which he and his companions had known at New Quay, Newcastle Emlyn and Blaenannerch were due entirely to the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon them, and that his deepest wish was that the people of Loughor should be blessed with the same visitation of the Spirit. To that end Roberts made it clear that all unconfessed or hidden sin had to be brought before God for forgiveness and cleansing in the blood of Christ before the Holy Spirit would be granted in their lives. The second necessity was submission to the baptism of the Spirit in complete and unquestioning obedience.

THE PRESENCE OF GOD

These conditions were consistent with God's promises given in the Biblical teaching on revival and on the first night at Moriah any who were unwilling to submit to the Holy Spirit were allowed to leave the meeting. As a result only the seventeen young people remained with Roberts as he led them in worship and prayer for nearly three hours, pleading that God would graciously break down any hardness of heart which might be holding them back. One by one, the small group which included Evan Roberts' brother and three sisters, felt the convicting power of the Spirit coming upon them as they began to confess their sins, to plead for mercy and to magnify the Saviour in prayers of rejoicing and praise.

The meeting confirmed that Roberts was not mistaken in the assurance he had felt in Cardiganshire that God would not confine His blessing merely to that area. Though he admitted to further moments of doubt over the need for such meetings in Loughor, Roberts knew that he had to continue until revival had come in all its fulness. He had intended the meetings should last for just one week, but as each night passed, the sense of God's presence grew so strong that those present were reluctant to have the services concluded, and a few remained behind to continue in prayer when the rest went home. By friday the attendance included worshippers from numerous congregations in the town, and twenty remained to pray until 11.30 p.m. Roberts wrote, "...we could have gone on all night... I believe there is to be a blessed revival in the near future." The "mercy drops" that had been experienced at Loughor were indeed but the forerunners of the showers and then the floods of blessing which were to follow.