The Prayer Meeting Revival of 1857-59

This is the story of the Prayer Revival of 1857-58, also known as Businessman’s Revival, and how one man’s yes to partner with what God was doing in his generation led to a powerful revival where it was estimated that within a year, over 1 million people got saved.

On March 6, 1857, the Supreme court decided in the Dred Scott case that African Americans and their descendants could not be U.S. Citizens. This was big blow to our nation living up to its Biblical roots and foundations. This decision divided churches and eventually a Civil War came to the surface. But in this impending time before that took place, there was a stirring for revival in the land. Something was about to break open that no one could have imagined. In the wake of Charles Finney’s revivalism, a business man named Jeremiah Lanphier got converted at Finney’s Broadway Tabernacle in Manhattan, New York in 1842. After working in business for over twenty years, at age 49, Jeremiah got hired as a local missionary by the North Dutch Church on Fulton Street. He traded his big salary for one that was less than $1,000 a year.

God began to break Jeremiah’s heart for the lost while he evangelized. He saw that there was a great need for God in those days. Then one day, God gave him an inspired idea in how to reach the people. He decided to host a Wednesday prayer meeting for businessmen from 12:00-1:00pm. He passed out flyers and began to spread the word. He encouraged people to come for no matter how long they were able to pull away. Whether it was 5 minutes, 10, minutes, or more, he welcomed them all to come and engage in prayer with him.

The date was set for his first businessmen’s prayer meeting to be at noon on September 23, 1857. When the day came, he was ready to welcome the other businessmen for a time of prayer. At noon, no one showed up. Then 12:10, still no one. At 12:25pm, still no one. Nearly half way through his first prayer meeting, he may have felt like a failure, or maybe that he hadn’t heard God correctly. Who knows what may have been going through his mind after being vulnerable to follow what he felt was the leading of the Lord only to see that absolutely no one responded. He didn’t throw in the towel or give up quite yet though. He stood his ground and remained.

Then all of a sudden at 12:30pm, the first business man joined him for prayer, then another, and another until he had a total of six people join him the first day. That was enough for him to see there was a need for prayer and that God was on it. He didn’t despise the day of small beginnings but leaned into what God was doing. They planned another prayer meeting for the following Wednesday. This time twenty men came, then the following week forty. He had to move to a bigger room. Then on October 10, 1857 the stock market crashed. People lost everything in a matter of moments. Desperation for God increased. Soon these prayer meetings were not just weekly but daily. In a short time, there were crowds of up to 3,000 people joining the Fulton Street Prayer meeting. People from all different kinds if classes joined in.

There were specific guidelines in place for this prayer meeting that worked well during that time. They started promptly at 12:00pm and finished right at 1:00pm. They allowed people to come and go as they please so that it possible for everyone to join on their lunch break if possible. There was a sign posted that said, “Prayers and Exhortation not to exceed 5 minutes, in order to give all an opportunity. Not more than 2 consecutive prayers or exhortations. No controverted points discussed.” When I read that it made me dream of what a prayer meeting today could look like in the absence of agendas and politics.

Each meeting started with singing a hymn, then the leader read a Scripture, said a prayer and opened up the floor for prayer requests. Five minutes before 1:00pm, they sang another hymn and then the leader closed with a prayer of blessing over the people. The news of this prayer meeting spread, especially through the Newspapers at that time. One of the six to attend the first meeting was a 21 year old who had a passion to take the same fire for prayer to him hometown in Philadelphia. His first meeting had forty, then sixty, then 300, then 2,500. Then he had to get a tent to accommodate the incoming crowds. In just four months, over 150,000 had prayed in that tent.

This revival was made up of people from all different denominations. It was a lay person’s revival. This was a prayer meeting for souls, and within a year it is estimated that over 1 million people got saved.

What might happen again today when a few people set aside a little time each day, or even just an hour a week to pray together for the lost, for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit in our day?

Do not despise the day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). Most revivals and powerful moves of God that sweep the nation start in a small meeting with just a few. See the story of the Azusa Street Revival for another example of how God loves it when the few gather to pray and seek for more of the Holy Spirit together.

Learn more about our School of Revival