About the time of the awakening in New England there was a remarkable revival among the American Indians, under the leadership of David Brainerd, the apostle to the Indians. It was one of the notable spiritual awakenings in the history of the Christian Church. When Brainerd first began his work among the Indians, he had little success. His health became impaired. He retired from the work for a time. He was offered a pastorate among "wealthy and kindly people," and his heart went out in love toward the daughter of Jonathan Edwards. But day-by-day he heard in his soul the pitiful cries of the poor lost Indians who were so degraded and steeped in sin.

He made the great decision. He deliberately gave up a life of ease and comfort, and went back into the wilderness to proclaim the gospel to "his poor Indians." With dauntless heroism he went from place to place preaching to various Indian tribes. His tours among the tribes covered "more than three thousand miles, through forests, over dangerous mountains, in fierce rains, and freezing cold."

As time went on Brainerd realized more and more, that it was only through the mighty power of God, and the fire falling from heaven, that the hardened hearts of the stolid Indians could be changed. He decided to give himself unreservedly to intercessory prayer. It is said "whole nights were spent in agonizing prayer in the dark woods, his clothes drenched with the sweat of his travail." As the result of such intense fervent intercession it is little wonder that the windows of heaven were opened and the fire fell. Mr. Shearer tells the thrilling story:

"Suddenly, the Spirit was outpoured upon the whole region of the Susquehanna. His first audience there had consisted of four women and a few children. Now there came streaming in upon him from all sides a host of men and women, who pressed upon him, and grasping the bridle of his horse, besought him with intense earnestness to tell them the way of salvation. In a great, glad wonder he looked upon them, and the text that leaped to his lips was, 'Herein is love.'

"Men fell at his feet in anguish of soul. These were men who could bear the most acute torture without flinching. But God's arrow had now pierced them; their pain could not be concealed and they cried out in their distress, 'have mercy upon me.' What impressed Brainerd most deeply was that though these people came to him in a multitude, each one was mourning apart. The prophecy of Zechariah was fulfilled before his eyes. The woods were filled with the sound of a great mourning, and beneath the Cross every man fell as if he and the Savior God alone were there. Gradually as the missionary spoke, there came to them, one by one, the peace and comfort of the Gospel.

"As the days passed he had full proof that a heaven-sent revival had come. A passion for righteousness possessed the converts. The wretched victims of the 'fire-water' were delivered, and the Indian camps were cleansed at once from their physical and moral filthiness. The love of Christ expelled every unlovely thing. As one poor woman expressed it, 'Me to be Him for all,' became the motto of their lives. They became themselves ardent missionaries of the Cross. The light spread through all that dark region, and a strong Indian Church was established."

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Paul Frederick West