Jonathan Bellamy spoke with Michael Marcel about past revivals in the UK, why we haven't seen a revival in recent history, and what he believes we need to happen to see revival again.

The fourth one is testimony. I don't believe people understand the power of testimony. The word in Hebrew is 'eduth', which means do it again with the same power and authority. So every time we testify we are saying to God, "Please do it again God, with the same power and authority." I think that's amazing.

Jonathan: Do you think our society today makes it more difficult for people to give themselves to those four areas in order to break through and to see revival? Holiness for example, is it such a challenge to people's lifestyles and purity of lifestyles? In terms of travailing prayer, are people so busy and so full it's much harder for them to travail? Is there an excuse, if you like?

Michael: I think what you say is very true. The enemy has succeeded wonderfully in his strategy to make us busy, so that we don't concentrate on the things of God. Somehow we've got to break away from that.

The great men and women of the past would spend up to three hours a day in the presence of God. Seeing people do that today, unless you're retired like me and I don't even do it, is difficult to see.

But we've got to do that. If people did it, they would find they would still get the same amount of work done, if they spent a lot of time with God to begin with.

Jonathan: It's about putting Him first.

Michael: Yes.

Jonathan: Let me ask you about the holiness side of that. How much of that is our giving ourselves to that and doing the best that we can to be as holy as possible, and how much of it is about a sovereign act of God in our lives?

Michael: Because the baptism of fire has not been taught, and has generally not been experienced by people, (that comes from Luke 3.16, "One will come after me who will baptise you with the Holy Ghost and fire").

There is the opportunity of us living out our holiness, day by day seeking out holiness and becoming more and more holy. But again, it means spending time with God.

So there is a way we can do it ourselves, but there is the baptism of fire that one can receive and it will take away your desire to sin. It's as it were taking you up about four levels all at once, which makes it much easier.

But it's so important. The holier we are, the more of God that is in us, the less of us is in us, and therefore God will use us as in Isaiah 6. It says He will use us and promote us and we'll go out with more power if there's more of Him in us.

Jonathan: You've been doing this for 25 years since God first asked you to start chronicling these wells of revival?

Michael: There have been some gaps.