December 1. Duncan Campbell. On this date in 1982, Channel of Revival: Biography of Duncan Campbell was published. Duncan was a man who trusted God and obeyed Him. Once, he was sitting near the pulpit at a church convention, when an overpowering urge to go to the island overcame him.
He had never been there, didn’t know anyone from there, but he had to go. So, he got up and left in the middle of the meeting, leaving them without a closing speaker. A couple of planes, a car ride, and a ferry steroidi italia later, Duncan arrived at the island Berneray, population 500.
When he arrived, he asked a boy to point him to the preacher, but the boy said both churches were pastor-less. To an elder, then. The boy pointed to a house on a nearby hill.
Duncan trekked up there and sent the boy in to tell the elder that Mr. Campbell had arrived. After a few minutes, the boy came back and said, “Hector McKennon was expecting you to arrive today. And you are to stay with his brother. And he asked me to tell you that he has initiated a meeting at the church at 9:00 tonight and he expects you to address it.”
Turned out, Hector McKennon had been out in his barn praying for God to send someone to lead a revival. McKennon’s wife heard him pray, “God, I do not know where he is, but you know, and you send him.”
And God did.
Today’s story is about a time when Duncan was young, and his heart was far from God.
Pride can harden the heart of a child, but a praying parent can make a difference.
Above the shrill and haunting sounds of bagpipes and Scottish step-dancing, young Duncan was drenched in sweat.
His bagpipe music filled the air, and his band—with its lively Scottish step-dancing—had the dancefloor jumping, when a gentleman from the crowd approached the stage and requested a traditional Scottish song, “The Green Hills of Tyrone”—a song Duncan remembered from his childhood.
When the band started playing the song, memories flooded Duncan’s mind. “As I came to the second part of that great tune, I found my mind altogether wandering …” back to a time when his family had sung this song together in their times of worship at home.
In that moment, he heard the still small voice, and couldn’t respond fast enough.
By the time the group finished the song, Duncan was so gripped by the Holy Spirit that he told the other players to carry on without him.
One of the bandmates asked him, “Are you not well?”
“I am very well in body, but terribly disturbed in my mind,” Duncan said.
He left the stage immediately and headed home. Conviction consumed him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. On the way, he spotted a church with a light on inside. Duncan peeked through the keyhole.
On this evening, the church was having an all-night prayer meeting. He saw man standing at the altar crying out to God. Duncan stepped inside and realized the praying man was his own father. “I’m sure he was praying for his wayward son,” said Duncan. Even though Duncan had been brought up in a sincere home of faith, as a young man he lived a godless life.
In full Scottish costume, he made his way toward the front. He walked up the aisle and sat beside his father.
His father turned to look at him, as if he had expected his son to walk in, as if he had had no doubt God was going to answer his prayers for his son that night. His father said, “I’m glad to see you here.”
A young woman read from the Scriptures: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it” (Job 33:14 NKJV).
These words pierced Duncan’s heart like a holy arrow. The love and conviction of God overwhelmed him, and he left the church in a hurry so as not to cause a scene.
On his way home, his conversation with the Lord intensified. “If I prayed one time along that country road, I’m sure I prayed ten times, crying to God to have mercy on me. I saw myself … sinful.”
At home, he found his mother on her knees by the fire, praying. “I’m sure she too was praying for her wayward son,” Duncan said.
Duncan got alone and cried out to the Lord. “‘Oh, God, I know not how to come, and I know not what to do, but if you’ll take me as I am, I’m coming now.’ And God … swept into my life. It was miraculous. It was supernatural,” he said.
“Oh, thank God for Christian parents,” he said as he looked back on that night.
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1 NIV).
Do you have a loved one who needs Jesus? Pride can harden the heart of a child, but a praying parent can make a difference.
“Brief Biography of Duncan Campbell.” oChristian.com. Accessed July 6, 2020. http://articles.ochristian.com/article13380.shtml.
Campbell, Duncan. “Duncan Campbell Saved and Sanctified.” Accessed June 29, 2020. http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?%20view=article&aid=10397.
Story read by Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/
Story written by Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/