God blesses prayerful preparation of church, calls four people to salvation

Before Kyle Walker arrived in Danville, Va., for his “Revive This Nation” preaching assignment, The Tabernacle—the church at which he would preach for the week—hosted a 24-hour opportunity for its members to pray for the revival. This was the church’s first revival since the 1980s, so the people intentionally sought to be spiritually prepared for what God had in store. Church members could sign up for time slots within a 24-hour period and commit to pray for the Lord to move in powerful ways among the church and community.

When Walker finally arrived at the church, he could sense that the people were spiritually ready to encounter the Lord through his preaching of the Word. “You can always tell as a preacher when people are praying for you,” says Walker, vice president for student services at Southwestern Seminary. “There’s just something about it.”

God, for His part, would bless the people’s prayerful preparation with, among other things, four salvations throughout the week.

The first two salvations occurred on Sunday morning, with two older men responding to Walker’s Gospel invitation. This was an encouraging way to kick off the revival, Walker says.

The other two salvations took place during the final service on Wednesday night. Unlike the previous services, this night of the revival focused especially on the children’s and student ministries of the church. These ministries included children who had been bused in from lower-income neighborhoods in order to participate in the church’s Wednesday night programs.

Walker preached 1 John 2:15-17, illuminating the difference between living for the world and being a child of God. Walker ultimately presented the Gospel and invited a response, and two children from the church’s bus ministry responded in repentance and faith. That night, the church’s youth pastor forwarded him a text message from Jenny, the bus driver who dropped off one of the children.

“Kanya came up to me when we dropped her off in the apartment complex,” Jenny wrote. “She told me about her decision. It was so sweet to talk to her and hear how she described what she did. She said, ‘I’m not of this world anymore, Miss Jenny. I belong to God, and I can do great things for Him.’”

Walker reflects, “So she understood the distinction between being a child versus belonging to the world. So I was really encouraged.”

Thanks to the movement of the Holy Spirit and the prayerful preparation of the church, the Lord moved powerfully among the people, Walker says. “It was a great time; I felt like the Lord moved in some great ways.”