‘What’s the matter son?’ The teacher couldn’t help but notice that the boy, usually well behaved, was unable to sit still.
‘Sir’, said the boy, ‘I need to know Jesus. I need to be sure.’
Without hesitation, the teacher sent the boy out with an older boy who he knew had a faith in Christ.
Some time later the two boys returned. ‘Oh sir, I am so happy – I have Jesus in my heart!’ The effect on the rest of the class was immediate. Boy after boy slipped out of the room. After a while, the teacher stood on a desk to look out of the high classroom windows. There he saw numbers of boys ranged around the edges of the playground against the school walls. Each was in prayer, some in tears. The older boy was moving between them, praying for them, helping them pray their own prayers as they asked Jesus to change their lives.
The noise was such that the girls’ class on the upper floor of the school, could hear the boys crying out. Without any communication from the boys directly, the girls seemed to know want was happening. One by one they slipped from their seats to kneel on the floor and to ask God to forgive them and to change their lives as well.
The year was 1859. The school was the Irish Society School, Coleraine, which played its part in the 1859 Ulster revival. The author was a local pastor, the Rev. William Arthur. He concludes his narrative with the words ‘the united cry [of the children] reached the adjoining streets, and soon every spot on the premises was filled with sinners seeking God.’
Further Reading:
The Ulster Awakening - John Weir
The 'Fifty Nine' revival - Iain R. K. Paisley (second hand only)
The Year of Grace - William Gibson
