A Surprising Encounter with the Holy Spirit Changed Everything
By 2010 I had come to the place where I thought God was finished with America. I had given up hope that America would ever see another great national spiritual awakening such as I had written about in my book, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. The revivals of the 1990s, it seemed, had turned inward, becoming self-serving, and were powerless to stem the cultural and moral decline of the nation.
Although I believed there could still be individual and local revivals, I had reluctantly succumbed to the popular eschatological idea that there would not be another great revival and that America’s time in the sun was over and done. But then, I was surprised by the Holy Spirit.
Surprised by the Holy Spirit
Without any expectation of such a thing happening, in September of 2010 I experienced a seven-hour visitation of God that completely upended my thinking in this regard. It began on a hot summer day in Tulsa, OK when I began a two-hour drive to Kingfisher, OK where I would be preaching the following day in a Sunday morning service.
Without any warning or anticipation of such a thing happening, the Holy Spirit seemed to fill my car and I suddenly felt enveloped in God’s presence. At the same time my mind and heart began to be flooded with thoughts of hope and faith that America “could” see another great, national spiritual awakening that would impact the culture and alter the course of the nation.
As I drove along the highway, I was hardly aware of my surroundings. By the time I arrived at my hotel, my heart was so full I could hardly contain myself. I could hardly wait to open my PC and began writing down the thoughts that continued to flood my mind. That experience lasted far into the night as I sat on the hotel bed and prayed and praised God and wrote.
The Fruit of That Experience
This was a defining moment and changed the course of my life and led to the writing and publication of several books that document how the First Great Awakening had a direct bearing on the founding of America and the ending of slavery. The first book was America's Revival Heritage and then came Pilgrims and Patriots.
In 2019, I sensed the Holy Spirit stirring my heart to write a book about how it was the Great Awakening that brought about the end of slavery in America. I therefore, wrote, 1726: The Year that Defined America and Abolitionist Founding Fathers. Somewhere in the midst of all this also wrote and published The Faith and Vision of Benjamin Franklin and 5 Pillars of the American Republic.
More than once I have been amazed at how I was providentially led to resources to confirm the vision I had seen and to fill out the historical narrative to document America’s spiritual birth. This was important for as the noted historian, Carl said, “When a nation goes down or a society perishes, one condition may always be found: they forgot where they came from."
This research and writing has solidified in me the truth that was revealed to me that summer day in 2010. God brought forth America for a special purpose, and that purpose is not yet fulfilled. We are people of Destiny and have a God-given task to fulfill.
God is Ready to Do it Again
Jonathan Edwards once said that when God determines to do a thing in the earth, He first sets His people to praying for the very thing that He has determined to give. It is obvious that there is a new hunger stirring across the body of Christ for a Divine awakening from heaven. Not something skillfully worked up by a religious maestro, but a Divine visitation that is prayed down from heaven.
Recently, I was providentially led to Zechariah 10:1, which reads, Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone. It was a fresh prod from the Lord to ask for the rain of the Holy Spirit in these days of the latter rain when God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh as prophesied in Acts 2:17-18.
Yes, I am convinced that God is not through with America and that a fresh wind from heaven is already beginning to blow across the land.
Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a historian, Bible teacher and ordained minister. He has a passion to see America reconnect with her Christian roots and experience another great, national spiritual awakening. To contact him about sharing his "1726" PowerPoint presentation to your congregation or group, send him an email at dreddiehyatt@gmail.com. Check out his books on Amazon and visit his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.
