The verses above show us that, while God has indeed given us a gift so we may serve Him, He will not “fan” that gift “into flame” for us; rather, as the apostle Paul tells us, we ourselves are responsible for that.

In the New Testament, the best example of this is the 120 disciples in Jerusalem. After the Lord’s ascension, they prayed together for ten days before the Lord poured out the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, so that “tongues of fire” even appeared on each of them, and they were all “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:1-4; see “Fan Into Flame the Gift of God that is Within You!” • 2).

In church history, surely one of the best examples of this would be the Welsh Revival of 1904. I recall reading a statement from Watchman Nee that this was “the greatest revival in church history.”

But that revival did not just happen, as R.B. Jones, who saw it first-hand, makes clear in his book, Rent Heavens. This is a short, but very good and spiritual account, of that revival and how it came about: through much prayer; through the Lord’s dealings with His people; and through their dealing with Him.

As one example, he includes the touching account of a pastor in the district regarding his church, which before had been in a condition of spiritual decline:

One evening in the spring of 1903, some of our young brethren–four in number–were found on the mountain, holding a meeting for prayer, and it transpired that they had been doing so every night for some months. Their one object was to pray for revival. The brother who discovered them heartily joined them. When the news leaked out, the whole church was moved by the thought that her condition was so keenly felt by those who were so young…
Presently the flame reached the whole church, and we were moved with the Spirit of prayer and with a passion for souls. In an incredibly short time the whole neighborhood was ablaze with the divine fire.
— Pages 31-32

If you long to see the Lord move along the same lines in our time, I highly recommend reading this book.

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—  7 January 2026 —