September 23 | Moments Almanac | Gathering
On September 23, 1857, Jeremiah Lanphier climbed the stairs to a room in lower Manhattan and prepared for a noon prayer meeting. He had printed invitations, posted a sign, and made the room ready.
At noon, no one came.
For thirty minutes, Lanphier prayed alone.
Then one man arrived. By the end of the hour, there were six. The next week there were twenty, then forty, and soon the meetings became daily. What began in an almost empty room grew into the Prayer Meeting Revival of 1857–58, spreading far beyond New York City.
In this episode of Moments Almanac, we remember the quiet beginning of a remarkable movement and the lesson hidden inside it: never judge what God may be doing by the first thirty minutes.
Sometimes the most important moments in history begin with no crowd, no applause, and no visible sign that anything is happening at all.
Welcome to Moments Almanac. This is a time for us to remember the people, places, and events that leave fingerprints on the soul. Today is September 23rd, and on this day in 1857, Jeremiah Lamphier climbed the stairs to a room in Lower Manhattan and prepared for a prayer meeting. He had printed handbills. He had invited businessmen and workers. He had placed a sign outside the church. The meeting would begin at noon, and at noon nobody came. Lamphir sat alone in the room. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, fifteen, still nobody. Now I wonder what was going through his mind. Maybe this had been a bad idea, maybe the people were too busy, maybe no one was interested. Maybe he had misunderstood what God wanted him to do. It is amazing how quickly an empty room can begin to preach to you, but Jeremiah didn't leave. He prayed. He prayed for thirty minutes and he prayed alone. And then around twelve thirty he heard footsteps. One man entered the room, then another. By the end of the first hour there were six men praying together. Six. Not exactly what you would call a revival. The next week twenty came. The following week around forty. Soon the meetings were being held every day. And then something began happening across New York City. It was the fall of eighteen fifty seven and America had entered a financial crisis. Banks failed, businesses collapsed, thousands lost their jobs, and in the middle of all that uncertainty, people began praying. No elaborate program, no famous preacher, no orchestra, no advertising campaign, just ordinary people gathering on their lunch hour to pray. Before long prayer meetings were spreading throughout the city, then to other cities, then across the country, thousands upon thousands of people began gathering for prayer, in what became known as the prayer meeting revival of eighteen fifty seven and eighteen fifty eight. But before the thousands there were six, before the six there was one. One man sitting in an empty room, wondering whether anyone else would ever walk through the door. The prophet Zechariah reminded us don't despise the day of small beginnings. We love big moments, the crowded rooms, the answered prayers, the stories that make history, but we usually don't see the thirty minutes that came before them the unnoticed obedience, the lonely prayer. The ministry nobody applauded the invitation nobody answered, the seed buried beneath the soil. Perhaps you're in one of those moments right now. You've prayed, but nothing seems to be happening. You've obeyed, but no one seems to notice. You've planted something but you can't see anything growing. Jeremiah Lamphier would probably tell you, keep praying. Keep showing up. Don't measure God's activity by the size of the room. Because on September 23rd, 1857, one of the most remarkable prayer movements in American history began with an empty chair, an empty room, and one man who decided to pray anyway. Thousands, hundreds, forty, twenty, six, one. Never judge what God may be doing by the first thirty minutes. Thank you for joining me for Moments Almanac. I hope you'll join me tomorrow. Until then, take care. Notice the scattered moments, and share the grace.
