Powerful praise. Anointed words. Fervent tarrying. These are simply a few of the characteristics that describe the explosive experience during Holiness Tabernacle’s annual Spring Revival. For three nights, visitors and guests alike dedicated themselves to pouring out of themselves to receive more of God and to tarry for the impartation of His Holy Spirit.
During the first night of the revival, speaker Elder George Green admonished the congregation who had already received the Holy Spirit. “You remember what it took for you to receive,” he said. “You’ve got to put in that same effort for those who are down here tarrying!”
It was truly a sight to witness, that first night of the revival, those who were filled and those who were seeking to be filled working together on the altar, praying and calling out to God. By the end of that night, a soul was filled!
On the second night, Mother Vivian Pruitte brought a powerful message that motivated the saints to “Pray Past the Altar”. She provided a comparison of our approach to prayer to that of a visit to a surgeon.
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“If you found out that your body was full of cancer, how many of you would go to the doctor and ask him to take out just a little bit?” she asked. “But that’s what we do to God. We come to the altar, and we only want Him to fix us a little bit at a time.”
Her vivid description of how praying at the altar is a direct reflection of the process sacrifices underwent in the Jewish temple under the Mosaic law was so powerful, the altar filled immediately after the word was given. And once again, God filled a soul with His Holy Spirit, and delivered a great many others.
By the third and final night of the revival, the atmosphere was charged with a spirit of praise and anticipation of God’s move. To no one’s surprise, God did not disappoint! Elder Joseph Guilford spoke about “The Prayer Thief”, and encouraged the church to use the power of prayer in their daily lives.
“The devil does not care about you joining a church or participating in its activities,” he informed the congregation “He does care about you praying and becoming more connected with God.” The moment he concluded, the revival attendees wasted no time in making their way to the altar and bursting into an ardent praise.
Pastor Eddie B Pruitte recalled stepping back for a moment and viewing the congregation during these moments. “It seemed like something so wonderful, and so sincere; it was almost surreal. I thought to myself, ‘Someone’s got to see this; people need to know about this.’”
Holiness Tabernacle’s 2014 spring revival left an indelible mark on all those who attended. Upon dismissal on the final night of the revival, one needed only to look at the faces of the people to see what Pastor Pruitte saw — transformed faces full of freedom and joy, and renewed belief in the theme for this year: “Great God, Great People, Great Expectations!”