Revival Breaks in Czech Chur

While several churches across America have also been touched by the revival meetings at the Brownsville Church, a number of congregations overseas are also reporting similar events. We take you now to one Bible school in the Czech Republic where revival started in a very unique way.

For more than a year and a half, students at the Pentecostal Bible School in the Czech Republic have participated in prayer meetings every night. These meetings began when prayer erupted spontaneously after several students read an article in the Pentecostal Evangel concerning revival.

"It happened one evening in November of 1996 when our Bible school superintendent was talking with some students about spiritual renewal in the United States," says student Ludek Juracasek. "All of a sudden, somebody encouraged them to pray, so they started to pray as though the Holy Spirit just came down on them. They were lying on the floor praying and, suddenly, students started coming down from upstairs. No one organized them, but they were drawn to that room. We assembled and prayed, and since that day, we have had a prayer meeting every evening."

Located in the heart of Europe, the Czech Republic is a nation of over 10 million people. Many people living in this area of central Europe claim to be religious, but they have no personal relationship with Christ. These Bible students are praying and believing that the power of the Gospel will penetrate their hearts and they will be born again by the Holy Spirit. There are more than 4,000 Pentecostal believers. The Czech Bible school is a focal point of the Pentecostal movement in this nation.

"The prayer meeting usually starts with a praise, and after that, we have a couple of minutes to be quiet before the Lord, to have quiet minds and a quiet heart," says Juracasek. "We also ask the Lord to meet needs in particular regions of this nation and to help us reach out with the Gospel to other nations."

Mirka Suknrorska leads the worship in music during the prayer meetings. Her brother, a Christian, led her to Christ by first introducing her to Christian music on tape. She is from a church with about 140 members and has been a Christian for four years.

"It's great that we can worship him, go into his presence and be quiet before his throne," says Mirka. "Through prayer, we are going to battle for this nation, and I know that God is listening. Please ask the American church to pray with us. The Czech Republic has many religions, and the people are so proud that sometimes it's difficult to tell them about Jesus. They don't want to listen. They don't see a difference between Christianity and some other religions. They don't understand what a personal relationship with God is. I'm longing that our churches will work more effectively so people will have a greater fire for God, a greater desire to serve him. Pray that this revival begun at the Bible school will spread to all of our churches and to all parts of the Czech Republic."