Probably the last one we've seen in terms of American history of an Elijah-type prayer,

a prayer that brought about the very last great awakening in America.

And it began on September 23, 1857. America at that time was in desperate economic depression, far worse than the 1920s.

The nation was divided over the slavery issue. There was an economic panic of what they call run on the banks,

and the banks had to close. There were hundreds of thousands of people out of work. Public drunkenness

was a common place all across the land. And at the height of all of that, a small businessman, he was not a prominent

wealthy man, but as a small businessman in New York City felt let of the Lord to start praying

for America. And for that purpose, he rented a room in a northern Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street in now on Manhattan.

The first meeting got into a very inauspicious start. He was the only one there.

Half an hour later, a second person showed up, and a few minutes later, two more showed up. But Jeremiah Lamphere would not give up. As a matter of fact,

he claimed Zachariah 410, do not despise the day of small things.

And he kept claiming that of the Lord.

Lamphere basically started, had about five rules about that prayer meeting.

He said, the first thing is they're not going to be preaching or theological debates.

Imagine that.

Having no preaching. Can God work without preachers? And the second thing, he said, that the participants are welcome from all

evangelical backgrounds, denominations. Third thing, he said, the meeting will begin promptly at noon and end up promptly at one o'clock.

Then he said that nobody was allowed to pray for more than five minutes, maximum.

And they ought to specifically pray for awakening in America. And so the first week, they had about 11 people, and then

the second week had 20. The third week, there were 40. And by the fifth week, they decided to

move from having a weekly prayer meeting to having a daily prayer meeting at the lunch hour from 12 to 1.

And that there were so many people in Manhattan area, New York area, began to take the lunch hour and go and attend.

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