這一段日子，我們一直在討論人們對復興的評價，有人認為復興是無關重要的，其果效也不能持久。可是，我並不太贊同。雖然耶穌基督的教會有時會處於可憐又可悲的景況下，但假若沒有從復興迴盪的餘波，情況可能會更糟糕。我認為世俗社會的情況也一樣，在英國，無論是道德上或靈性上的情況都很不好，我相信要是沒有歷史上那些偉大復興的持續影響，今天的情形可能會更加惡劣。

這並不是說現代基督徒的禱告和敬虔生活對世界沒有影響，事實上它們有著相當明顯的貢獻。我們是現今世代裡神的子民，為的是要成為「鹽和光」，以阻止邪惡的興旺，也就是說，到現在我們仍然可以感受到過去復興的影響在我們這一代身上工作，它的影響甚至在政府和國會中仍可看到。

多年前，我參加了一個小組去訪問國會，並把一本特別製作的聖經贈送給當時的首相威爾遜（Harold Wilson）。藉著這次訪問，我們有機會與幾位基督徒國會議員談話，在眾多事情中，他們告訴我們說在國家的法律和條例裡，有很多可以追溯到當年國家所出現的屬靈醒覺。這是一個相當發人深省的信息，真值得我們反思，倘若沒有過去的屬靈醒覺，真不能想像我們今天的社會會變成怎樣。

Although the Church of Jesus Christ is sometimes in a sad and sorry state, things might well be worse were it not for the fact that the influence of previous revivals still reverberates in our midst. The same, I think, can be said of the secular world. Here in the British Isles our society is in a bad way, morally and spiritually, but I believe things would be much worse were it not for the continuing influence of the great revivals of history.

This must not be taken to mean that the prayer life and godly living of present-day Christians make no contribution to our world, for clearly they do. We the people of God in this present generation provide "the salt and light" that makes it more difficult for evil to prosper. That said, however, the impact of past revivals can still be felt at work in our generation - even in our Houses of Parliament.

Several years ago I was part of a small group who visited the Houses of Parliament to present a specially produced Bible to the prime minister of the day - Harold Wilson. While there, we had the opportunity to talk to several Christian MPs who, among other things, informed us that the origins of many of the laws and statutes by which our land is run can be traced back to the times when our nation was in the midst of spiritual awakenings. I know it is a sobering thought with which to begin the day, but we might well ponder what kind of society we would find ourselves in at this moment were it not for the great spiritual awakenings of the past.