I love history. I grew up with a Dad who loved history and forced my sister and I to watch historical movies and the history channel. We hated it then, but now those are some of our favorite things to watch. Dad unintentionally instilled in his kids a love for history. I no longer complain when he wants to watch some war movie, and I will voluntarily watch shows like "M.A.S.H." or "Hogan's Heroes", and love to sit down for "Sergeant York".
My love for history extends far beyond just shows and movies. I also love learning about His story. Coleman's book came to me during college. My BSU director gave it to me because he knew I loved to read and because he knew I loved reading about how God moves through history.
Coleman's book recounts the revival in a small Kentucky college during the 1970's. These students, at a Christian school, had been praying for an awakening for a while. Then, suddenly, God arrived. He took over the campus, and everything else stopped. Literally stopped! Classes were cancelled. People stopped studying for classes, instead opted to study the Word. The cafeteria was empty because everyone would rather feast on the things of Heaven. Outsiders forgot their vacation plans, choosing to spend time in the mist of the closest thing Earth could get to Heaven.
It blows my mind that a group of people can forget this world and focus on His Glory for such a time. 186 hours to be exact! Over a week of prayer, confession, exhortation, and praise. Nonstop, how amazing! God stepped in and changed each and every one of those students, teachers, administrators, and everyone else who decided to just stop by and see what was going on.
But it didn't just happen in that little town and for that week. The news spread. People came from all over. The revival spread across the country. The students went out as well. They wanted to spread the fire, so they did. Students went on mission trips across the country that spring break. Some simply to speak of what happened on their campus, others to spread the Good News. Other campuses and cities were touched by this revival. People were mightily changed.
My favorite chapter in this book is the second one. It is a journal entry by one of the students present at the revival. He didn't keep consistent notes about every little detail of the event. He did write down how the Spirit moved. He wrote down prayer requests, confessions of testifying students, hymns that were being sung, and Scriptures that were speaking to the hearts of those present. It makes me long to be there. My heart cries out to see such an event in my lifetime.
I have shared this book with several people. It is out of print, so hunting it down is hard at times. I'm not sure if any of them have read the book. Maybe they don't have the same love for reading or for books of this genre. But to miss this book is to truly miss out on a blessing, encouragement, and something for which to strive. It is a very small, short book.
