In 1949, a spontaneous revival broke out on the island of Lewis, a remote part of Scotland. Hundreds of lives were changed over the next three years. One story sticks out to me and that is the story of Willie.
Willie was what we would call a prodigal, meaning that he had known the “straight and narrow” but lived a life that was far from God. His mother prayed for Willie his whole life. As he would spend his youth in trouble with his friends and his early adulthood in a continual drunken stupor, many gave up on Willie. Not his mother.
When revival broke out, Rev. Duncan Campbell was summoned to go preach at a spontaneous gathering at the church. On his way he found Willie laying in a ditch with his mother at his side. But Willie wasn’t overcome with alcohol as Campbell supposed. No, he was under conviction of the Holy Spirit to the point of weeping over his lost soul. His mother stayed beside of him, half praying and half begging “Oh Willie, Willie, are ya comin (to Jesus) at last?”
Willie changed that night. Rather, Jesus changed Willie. He later became a parish minister and led a life devoted to Jesus and seeing others coming to faith in Jesus.
Friends, don’t give up on “prodigals”. You may have been one once yourself. Keep praying for Jesus to get ahold of them.
Adam Will 