A stunning spiritual hunger
Tim Alford shares how prayer, persistence, and faith opened the way for powerful encounters with Jesus at Limitless Festival 2024
It’s the final night of Limitless Festival, and the last session has just concluded. I am, by this point, a quivering wreck of a man. And so, to my shame, I was not overwhelmed with joy to see two young women at the side of the stage beckoning for my attention. Frankly, I would rather have curled up into a dark hole for three weeks than had another conversation. Nonetheless, I pulled myself together and headed over. I’m glad I did.
As I approached, it became apparent that both were weeping. The older of the two spoke first (we’ll call her Sian). Sian was a youth leader in her twenties who introduced me to the young person at her side ‒ a girl in her older teen years (Amelia). The two of them began to unpack their story.
Sian had invited Amelia, who was not a Christian, to Limitless Festival, hoping and praying that God would break into her life. Sian had been interceding for her ahead of the event, and every time we gave a salvation appeal, she whispered a quiet prayer for Amelia to respond. But on each occasion, Amelia stayed rooted to her seat.
On the last night, we decided to present an opportunity for young people to give their lives to Jesus early in the evening. Over 200 people responded. Amelia was not one of them. Sian arrived late to the session that evening, having stayed back at their camp to get started on pack down. Upon arrival, she sat down next to Amelia and playfully suggested, “I think tonight’s your night!”
“It’s too late,” Amelia responded. “They’ve already done it.”
Sian’s heart sank. But youth leaders are a resilient bunch, and Sian had not gone to all this effort to go home without Amelia giving her life to Jesus! So once more she began to pray: “Lord, please put it into the hosts’ hearts to do another salvation appeal tonight.”
The final session was about to conclude when Laura, one of our hosting team, discerned, “I think there are some adults in the room who need to give their lives to Jesus for the first time.”
“Well,” I replied, “if we’re going to give the invitation to adults, then let’s give one more opportunity for young people whilst we’re at it!” We did, and another 81 people responded… including Amelia.
As Amelia stood to walk to the front, Sian’s tears began to flow. She knew that the heartache, the prayer, the sleepless nights and practical preparation were all worth it for this moment. And now, as Amelia and Sian stood in front of me with tears of joy in their eyes, I too whispered my own prayer: “Thank you Jesus.”
This is a story of just one of the 745 people who gave their lives to Jesus at Limitless Festival. It is reflective of what we have been witnessing in recent years. God is on the move in this generation.
We are witnessing a stunning spiritual hunger and appetite for worship. We are witnessing young people being baptised in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, sharing words of knowledge, and praying for healing miracles. God is on the move in this generation.
And what we have been experiencing is being reflected in social studies. According to The Quiet Revival Report published by Bible Society, church attendance among Gen Z has quadrupled since 2018, and sales of The Good News Bible: The Youth Edition, have nearly doubled since 2021. God is on the move in this generation.
Yet I believe what we are witnessing in these days is the start of something, not the fullness of it. So, we must continue to invest deeply in the children and young people in our churches, and in those who serve them. We must continue to contend in intercession and fasting, standing in the gap for this generation. And we must continue to keep the prayer of Habakkuk on our lips: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known,” (Habakkuk 3:2).
God is definitely on the move in this generation.
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.