[b]Four governing principles of revival[i]by Duncan Campbell
To the praying men and women of Barvas, four things were made clear, and to them became governing principles. First, they themselves must be rightly related to God, and in this connection the reading of Psalm 24 at one of their prayer meetings brought them down in the presence of the Lord, where hearts were searched and vows renewed, and, in the words of one who was present, they gave to their lives the propulsion of a sacred vow, and with Hezekiah of old, found it in their hearts to “make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel.” Happy the church and favoured the congregation that can produce such men and women I So prayer meetings were held in church and in cottage, and frequently the small hours of the morning found the parish minister and his faithful few pleading the promises; with a consciousness of God, and with a confidence in Him that caused them to hope in His Word.
In the second place, they were possessed of the conviction that God, being a covenant-keeping God, must keep His covenant engagements. Had He not promised to “pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the day ground”? Here was something that for them existed in the field of possibility; why were they not actually experiencing it? But they came at length to the place where, with one of old, they could cry “Our God….. is able …. and He will.”
“Faith mighty faith the promise seas
And looks to God alone.
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries It shall be done.”
Thirdly, they must be prepared for God to work in His own way and not according to their programme — God was sovereign and must act according to His sovereign purpose — but ever keeping in mind that, while God is sovereign in the affairs of men, His sovereignty does not relieve men of responsibility. “God is the God of revival but man is the human agent through whom revival is possible.”
Fourthly, there must be a manifestation of God, demonstrating tire reality of the Divine in operation, when men would be forced to say, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eves.’’ It is therefore not surprising that in the month of December, 1949, God did visit the Parish church of Barvas with revival blessing that, in a very short time, leapt the bounds of the parish, bringing refreshing and spiritual life to many all over the island.
Duncan Campbell, The Lewis Awakening, 1949-1953