The Awakening: Revival in China: 1927-1937 - Paperback

The Awakening: Revival in China 1927-1937

This book documents Marie Monsen's firsthand account of the spiritual revival that swept through China between 1927 and 1937. After twenty years of persistent prayer, Monsen witnessed and participated in one of the most significant religious movements in Chinese Christian history.

Historical Context and Background

Marie Monsen initially sought to travel to Korea, where reports indicated God's Spirit was being poured out abundantly. She prayed for funds to bring back "glowing coals" to her mission field in China. However, God directed her differently. Through a still, small voice, she received the message: "What is happening in Korea can happen in China if you will pay the price in prayer." Monsen accepted this challenge with a solemn promise: "Then I will pray until I receive."

The Revival Movement

Leslie Lyall identifies Marie Monsen as the "pioneer" of the revival movement—the handmaiden upon whom the Spirit was first poured out. Her approach set the pattern for others to follow through her surgical skill in exposing hidden sins within the Church and behind the exterior of trusted Christians and Christian leaders. She maintained a quiet insistence on a clear-cut experience of the new birth.

Core Themes

The book emphasizes several critical elements that characterized this revival:

• Prayer: The central role of intercessory prayer both before and during the revival
• Self-Emptying: The necessity of personal surrender and humility
• Confession and Repentance: Making way for the infilling of the Spirit through honest acknowledgment of sin
• Spiritual Authenticity: Exposing hidden sins and requiring genuine conversion experiences

Purpose and Application

Reading accounts of past awakenings serves as one of the most effective ways to stir up prayer for revival in our own generation. This book provides a blueprint for those seeking spiritual renewal, demonstrating that God continues to look for individuals in every generation who will take up the challenge and declare, with Marie Monsen, "I will pray until I receive."

Published by Kingsley Press in August 2011, this paperback edition preserves Monsen's vivid firsthand testimony of how sustained prayer and spiritual discipline led to widespread revival across China during a tumultuous decade in the nation's history.