Jonathan Edwards on Prayer

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you…” Jeremiah 29.12-14

An Humble Attempt
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)
“But certainly that expression of seeking the Lord, is very commonly used to signify something more; it implies that God himself is the great good desired and sought after; that the blessings pursued are God’s gracious presence, the blessed manifestations of him, union and intercourse with him; or, in short, God’s manifestations and communications of himself by His Holy Spirit.”

We shall know that seeking the Lord has accomplished its objective when the power, fruit, gifts, and unity of the Spirit are increasingly known among us. How does it stand with these matters at present? Abounding fruit? Multiple and abundant gifts engaged in the work of ministry and building the church? Power for witness flowing to and through the members of our congregations? Churches in every community joined in visible unity? The apostles, following Christ’s instruction, waited together in extended prayer for God to send His Spirit for all these blessings, and after ten days, He came. God wants us to be filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5.18-21). He commands us to pray, and promises to listen when we do. And then, He says, we will find Him. For then God shall come down into our midst again, filling each one with His Spirit, working within us to will and do of His good pleasure, exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we have ever before dared to ask or think (Phil. 2.13; Eph. 3.20). And when God comes to His people like this, then real revival will begin.

How might you be able to know, in your own church, when the Spirit of God is beginning to stir people for revival? Do you pray for this to happen? Do you pray with others for it?

Learn to Pray for Revival – and Pray!
We currently conduct three meetings to pray for revival, enlisting participants from around the country to come together in our online prayer room once a month – or once a week – to seek the Lord for revival. We use selected psalms to guide our time together, and spend around 30 minutes in prayer together. Join us. We’d like to begin a second weekly group, convening at 4:00 Eastern time each week, to seek the Lord for revival. If you’d like to be part of this group, or if you would like to join an existing revival prayer group, send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

An Humble Attempt
If you have not read Edwards’ book on praying for revival, I urge you to do so. We’ll send it to you in a free PDF which you can print or download to your e-reader. Just email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and request Jonathan Edwards’ An Humble Attempt.

The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.All quotations are from Jonathan Edwards, An Humble Attempt, &c. in Edward Hickman, ed. The Works of Jonathan Edwards(Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1834, 1995), Vol. Two, pp. 278ff.