Evangelist Phil Waldrep said he’s preached in every county in Alabama — in Low Hope Baptist, Little Hope Baptist and No Hope Baptist.
“When will revival come to Alabama? What will make it happen? In 37 years, I’ve watched Alabama Baptists try it all,” Waldrep told the crowd at the Tuesday evening session of the state convention annual meeting Nov. 13.
Waldrep’s message followed more than an hour of music by a mass choir and orchestra made up of the Alabama Singing Men, the Alabama Singing Women and musicians from First Baptist Church, Pelham, and Vaughn Forest Baptist Church, Montgomery.
The music left many on their feet shouting, and at the end of Waldrep’s message, dozens filled the altar and aisles on their knees, praying for revival to come to Alabama.
“For a while we thought that if we just increased activity, if we just got Christians busy enough, we would have revival,” Waldrep said.
But it didn’t happen, he said. “Mary had a little lamb, it should’ve been a sheep. But then it joined a Baptist church and died from lack of sleep.”
Education didn’t bring revival, and neither has politics, Waldrep said. “We have far too many Alabama Baptists who believe if we elect the right people, revival will come,” he said. “Revival isn’t in the donkey of the Democrats or the elephant of the Republicans. Revival is in the Lion of Judah.”
Entertainment hasn’t brought revival either, he said.
“We have all kinds of entertainment, and most of it is healthy and good,” he said. “But we are trying to have revival through feasting and playing when the Word says it’s only going to come through fasting and praying.”
There’s only one way Alabama is going to have revival, Waldrep said — prayer.
“If we can get serious about praying, we can see revival come,” he said.
Preaching from Romans 1:8–12, Waldrep said Alabama Baptists needed to pray like Paul did.
“Paul prayed primarily for others,” he said. “But most of the time we don’t spend time praying for others when we don’t have any personal interest in the outcome.”
Paul also prayed consistently every day, and he was willing to be part of the answer to his own prayers, Waldrep said.
“Sometimes we pray and we pray and we pray when God wants us to be the answer to our own prayers,” he said.
God answers prayers — we know that but we often don’t live it out, Waldrep said. He noted that as state Baptists prepare to kick off a new initiative, Praying Across Alabama, the time has come to back our words with prayers.
Praying Across Alabama will encompass two months of prayer beginning with a statewide day of prayer Feb. 24. State Baptist leaders aim to have a prayer meeting on the steps of every county courthouse in the state during that time period.
“Is this going to be just another campaign in words, or are we going to be serious about praying for our state? Join me tonight in a commitment to pray across Alabama,” Waldrep said.
One way Waldrep has prayed for the state for years is to divide up a map of the state and pray for a few counties each day of the week, as well as for the people he knows in those counties.
“Will you make a commitment tonight to lead your people to pray? Revival will not come through activity, politics or entertainment,” Waldrep said as a number of pastors placed commitment cards on the altar. “If we aren’t praying and leading them to pray, our people won’t pray.”
For more information about Praying Across Alabama, visit www.alsbom.org/upcoming-events/praying-across-alabama.
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