Sioned Graves offers some reflections on “The Quiet Revival”, a term coined by The Bible Society describing a recent resurgence of faith in the UK, especially among young people. She looks at 1 Kings 18 and asks the questions: how should we respond?
“And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down to the earth and put his face between his knees, and he said to his servant, “Go up, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” Elijah said, “Go back” seven times. And at the seventh time the servant said, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the rain shower does not stop you.”
1 Kings 18:42-44
My husband and I were up on the sides of Carn Ingli mountain a few weeks ago, and we had the amazing experience of seeing an Atlantic weather front closing in. What had started the previous day as high, white clouds, turned into a mighty wind, and by the next night, a dark sheet of heavy rain had closed in over the land. If you have ever observed a front closing in from Cardigan Bay, it would help you to imagine the scene in 1 Kings 18.
One day, no sign of rain – and the next, small white clouds gradually getting bigger – and then finally, rain. The context in 1 Kings is that Israel had been through a severe period of drought, so the appearance of rain would have been startling. Interestingly in this passage, although Elijah does not see the cloud rising from the sea with his own eyes, his servant’s account about the cloud is enough to prompt him to issue a response straight away, without a doubt in his mind. Why is this? We read in the previous verses that Elijah had been kneeling on the mountain, in a posture of prayer. Perhaps his immediate response to his servant’s account is due to God having already given him faith that rain was indeed coming, in response to his waiting on God in prayer.
I was in a wonderful meeting recently when I heard this passage being read in relation to the recent ‘Quiet Revival’ report. The main finding of the report by the Bible Society is that after decades of ‘decline’ across the churches of the UK, things have started changing direction. Perhaps one of the most encouraging findings of the report was that the younger generations (especially ‘Gen Z’) are reportedly leading this change. According to the report, the number of people 18-24 years of age who claim to regularly attend church rose from 4% in 2018 to 16% in 2024.
Are we seeing a cloud the size of a fist rising from the sea in these numbers? Whatever our perspective is – whether we are seeing a change or a ‘quiet revival’ in our context or not – I wonder whether these reports would prompt us to respond in faith?
How would we do that? One thing we can do, like Elijah in this passage, is to remain in a posture of prayer. The call to pray for those around us who need the good news of Jesus remains as critical as ever. As we stay in a posture of prayer, we often become more aware of the reality of God and His presence, and faith will also arise.
“Why would we not then, like Elijah, start to step out – and start responding to the sound of rain?”
The next thing we can do is to start stepping out in faith, on the basis of our belief in a living God who is in the ‘business of saving’! The statistics above are said to be consistently supported by reports on the ground by churches who are seeing young people being drawn to church in a new way, and many just ‘turning up’ to services!
One thing we could do to respond to these stories is to ask the question – would our church be ready to welcome new people if they came? What would we have to do to make our church an easier place for people to just ‘turn up’ to?
The call to ‘go out’ with a missional heart and reach beyond the church walls is also just as important as ever.
Another report was recently released by Scripture Union regarding ‘Gen Alpha’ children and youth in Wales (born between 2010 and 2024). The report found that 80% of them believed in God (or gods), but only 7% said that they attended church. When asked how they would like to be involved with activities that would allow them to learn about God, going to a church was not their preferred option by far, but attending creative and relevant activities in their houses, in sports halls, cafés , outside etc. had much better traction. Even though children and young people are indeed very open to faith, the call for us to continue to go beyond our regular church activities to seek to meet young people in relevant and creative ways is as key as ever.
This call to reach out is true for every age: the ‘Quiet Revival’ report found that 56% of people in the UK who don’t attend church would be open to pray with a Christian friend if they offered!
Why would we not then, like Elijah, start to step out – and start responding to the sound of rain?