Men of Prayer :: John Hyde
As in most cases, there is a tendency for men to boast much about their achievements for the Lord, perhaps too much that they have made idols out of their ministries. They will of course not admit this, but their prayer life will say otherwise, if they have indeed such a life. They may utter a sentence or two, say grace before meals, pray over a man on the street, but they have not known brokenness before God, waiting long nights and weeks agonizing for souls. They have either forgotten or is not aware that it is God who brings people into His kingdom. It is God who adds daily such as who should be saved. When a man relies on the strength of the arm of the flesh, he is sure to retain some desire to promote his work. But when a man finds solace in the isolation of the prayer closet, it is then that he realizes he is, with all his ministry, but a worm in the presence of such a terrifying and Holy God.
It is my deepest desire, in these dire times, for the children of God everywhere to recognize that the highest labor we can bestow upon the Lord, yet also the most neglected, is the labor that comes from him: and this labor is prayer. Prayer that comes not from the eloquence of our tongues and minds but prayer that is borne in heaven given to men. The prayer that God answers is the prayer that comes from Him. This we must covet. This we must have, and this we must confidently yearn to receive from God. There is no other alternative. There is no other answer.
More than preachers, we need anointed preachers. Does scripture say, 'Preach to one another'? Does it not say, 'Pray for one another'? Does scripture say, 'Preach without ceasing'? Does it not say instead, 'Pray without ceasing'? Preaching does not get a man anointing. God alone gives anointing; and there is no other avenue ordained by God by which we can achieve this except through prayer. God indeed only has one Son and He made him a preacher, but more than that He made him a praying preacher.
This is an excerpt from the book John Hyde, Apostle of Prayer. John Hyde, or more affectionately known as Praying Hyde, is a man of such reputation as, it is said of him: "When John Hyde is in town, the Holy Spirit is in town as well.":
"It was about this time that John Hyde laid hold of God in a very definite covenant. This was for one soul a day—not less, not inquirers simply, but a soul saved—ready to confess Christ in public and be baptized in His Name. Then the stress and strain was relieved. His heart was filled with the peace of full assurance. All who spoke to him perceived a new life and a new life-work which this life can never end.
He returned to his district with this confidence; nor was he disappointed. It meant long journeys, nights of watching unto prayer, and fasting, pain, and conflict, yet victory always crowning this. What though the dews chilled him by night and the drought exhausted him by day! His sheep were being gathered into the fold, and the Good Shepherd was seeing of the travail of his soul and being satisfied. By the end of that year more than four hundred were gathered in.
Was he satisfied? Far from it. How could he possibly be so long as his Lord was not? How could our Lord be satisfied, so long as one single sheep was yet outside His fold? But John Hyde was learning the secret of Divine strength: “The joy of the Lord.” For, after all, the greater our capacity for joy, the greater our capacity also for sorrow. Thus it was with the Man of Sorrows, He who could say: “These words have I spoken unto you, that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.”
John Hyde seemed always to be hearing the Good Shepherd’s voice saying, “Other sheep I have—other sheep I have.” No matter if He won the one a day or two a day or four a day, He had an unsatisfied longing, an undying passion for lost souls. Here is a picture given by one of his friends in India: “As a personal worker he would engage a man in a talk about his salvation. By and by he would have his hands on the man’s shoulders, looking him very earnestly in the eye. Soon he would get the man on his knees confessing his sins and seeking salvation. Such a one he would baptize in the village, by the roadside, or anywhere.
“I once attended one of his conventions for Christians. He would meet his converts as they came in, and embrace them in Oriental style, laying his hand first on one shoulder and then on the other. Indeed, his embraces were so loving that he got nearly all to give like embraces to Christians, and those, too, of the lowest cast.” This was his strong point. Love won him victories."
Brethren if the Lord has indeed given you a ministry to care for, let that ministry be the overflow of a persistent and consistent prayer life. We cannot afford not to pray. We just cannot afford not to.
It is my deepest desire, in these dire times, for the children of God everywhere to recognize that the highest labor we can bestow upon the Lord, yet also the most neglected, is the labor that comes from him: and this labor is prayer. Prayer that comes not from the eloquence of our tongues and minds but prayer that is borne in heaven given to men. The prayer that God answers is the prayer that comes from Him. This we must covet. This we must have, and this we must confidently yearn to receive from God. There is no other alternative. There is no other answer.
More than preachers, we need anointed preachers. Does scripture say, 'Preach to one another'? Does it not say, 'Pray for one another'? Does scripture say, 'Preach without ceasing'? Does it not say instead, 'Pray without ceasing'? Preaching does not get a man anointing. God alone gives anointing; and there is no other avenue ordained by God by which we can achieve this except through prayer. God indeed only has one Son and He made him a preacher, but more than that He made him a praying preacher.
This is an excerpt from the book John Hyde, Apostle of Prayer. John Hyde, or more affectionately known as Praying Hyde, is a man of such reputation as, it is said of him: "When John Hyde is in town, the Holy Spirit is in town as well.":
"It was about this time that John Hyde laid hold of God in a very definite covenant. This was for one soul a day—not less, not inquirers simply, but a soul saved—ready to confess Christ in public and be baptized in His Name. Then the stress and strain was relieved. His heart was filled with the peace of full assurance. All who spoke to him perceived a new life and a new life-work which this life can never end.
He returned to his district with this confidence; nor was he disappointed. It meant long journeys, nights of watching unto prayer, and fasting, pain, and conflict, yet victory always crowning this. What though the dews chilled him by night and the drought exhausted him by day! His sheep were being gathered into the fold, and the Good Shepherd was seeing of the travail of his soul and being satisfied. By the end of that year more than four hundred were gathered in.
Was he satisfied? Far from it. How could he possibly be so long as his Lord was not? How could our Lord be satisfied, so long as one single sheep was yet outside His fold? But John Hyde was learning the secret of Divine strength: “The joy of the Lord.” For, after all, the greater our capacity for joy, the greater our capacity also for sorrow. Thus it was with the Man of Sorrows, He who could say: “These words have I spoken unto you, that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.”
John Hyde seemed always to be hearing the Good Shepherd’s voice saying, “Other sheep I have—other sheep I have.” No matter if He won the one a day or two a day or four a day, He had an unsatisfied longing, an undying passion for lost souls. Here is a picture given by one of his friends in India: “As a personal worker he would engage a man in a talk about his salvation. By and by he would have his hands on the man’s shoulders, looking him very earnestly in the eye. Soon he would get the man on his knees confessing his sins and seeking salvation. Such a one he would baptize in the village, by the roadside, or anywhere.
“I once attended one of his conventions for Christians. He would meet his converts as they came in, and embrace them in Oriental style, laying his hand first on one shoulder and then on the other. Indeed, his embraces were so loving that he got nearly all to give like embraces to Christians, and those, too, of the lowest cast.” This was his strong point. Love won him victories."
Brethren if the Lord has indeed given you a ministry to care for, let that ministry be the overflow of a persistent and consistent prayer life. We cannot afford not to pray. We just cannot afford not to.
Let us pray.
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