The Apostle of Prayer

By Bernard R. DeRemer J. Wilbur Chapman and Charles M. Alexander, two of the most widely used evan elists of their era, were holdin a reat !ampai n in "n land durin #$##. Be!ause of spe!ial diffi!ulties, Chapman as%ed John &yde to inter!ede for him. 'his is how Chapman re!alled the in!ident( )&e !ame to my room, turned the %ey in the door, dropped on his %nees, waited five minutes without a sin le syllable !omin from his lips. * !ould hear my own heart thumpin and his beatin . * felt the tears runnin down my fa!e. * %new * was with +od. 'hen, with upturned fa!e, down whi!h the tears were streamin , he said, ,-h, +od./ 'hen for five minutes at least he was still a ain, and then, when he %new he was tal%in with +od, his arm went around my shoulder, and there !ame up from the depth of his heart su!h petitions for men as * had never heard before. )* rose from my %nees to %now what real prayer was. We believe that prayer is mi hty, and we believe it as we never did before.) John &yde )0rayin &yde) was born in Carrollton, *ll., in #123. &is odly 0resbyterian pastor father faithfully pro!laimed the ospel and fervently inter!eded for wor%ers to be thrust forth into the 4ord5s harvest field. 'hus, John rew up in a home fre6uented by visitin le!turers, missionaries, and others who !ombined to provide a liberal edu!ation in Christian matters. After raduation from Cartha e Colle e with hi h honors, he was offered a fa!ulty position. &owever, he was divinely !alled to the re ions beyond, so he enrolled at M!Cormi!% 7eminary in Chi!a o. Completin his wor% there, he sailed for *ndia in #1$8. "n route, he found ood opportunities for )wor% on shipboard.) But there was mu!h more. A letter whi!h rea!hed him aboard ship !hallen ed him to be filled with the &oly 7pirit, as the reat 6ualifi!ation for mission wor%. )John5s first rea!tion was an er and resentment hadn5t he already experien!ed this9 But the rest of the voya e he ave himself to mu!h prayer that he mi ht indeed be filled with the 7pirit and %now experientially the promise of A!ts #(1. 'he answer to these prayers was the be innin of an in!redibly powerful life of inter!ession. Arrivin in *ndia, &yde fa!ed the hu e stru le of new lan ua e, !limate, !ulture, and !ustoms. 'hrou h lon periods of intensive study, he be!ame profi!ient in :rdu and 0un;abi in order to rea!h the masses. &yde was asso!iated with the 0un;ab 0rayer :nion from its be innin , and it made a ma;or !ontribution to his life and ministry. Members set themselves definitely and desperately to obtain spiritual awa%enin by prayer, and they persevered. -ne of their prin!iples was to )set apart one half hour ea!h day ... to pray for this awa%enin ...) and to !ontinue until it !ame. 'he 7ial%ot Convention and revival resulted from the heavy burden of prayer on the heart of John &yde and his !ollea ues. Beforehand, &yde and R. M!Cheyne 0aterson spent <= days and ni hts waitin on the 4ord )for a mi hty outpourin of &is power.) At the !onvention, while &yde was addressin fellow missionaries on the wor% of the &oly 7pirit, +od spo%e anew to his own soul and )opened up to him the divine plan of san!tifi!ation by faith. -ne of the other missionaries present at that meetin left this a!!ount( )-ne ni ht he !ame into my study about half>past nine and be an to tal% to me about the value of publi! testimony. We had an earnest dis!ussion until lon after midni ht. We had as%ed him on the next evenin to lead a meetin for men.... When the time for the meetin arrived ... Mr. &yde had not arrived. We be an to sin , and san several numbers before he did !ome in, 6uite late. )&e sat down on the mat in front of us and sat silently for a !onsiderable time. 'hen he arose and said very 6uietly, ?Brothers, * did not sleep any last ni ht and * have not eaten anythin today. * have been havin a reat !ontroversy with +od. * feel that &e has wanted me to !ome here and testify to you !on!ernin some thin s that &e had done for me, and * have been ar uin with &im.... -nly a little while a o have * ot pea!e !on!ernin the matter and * have a reed to obey &im, and now * have !ome to tell you ;ust some of the thin s that &e has done for me.5/ )After ma%in this brief statement he told us very 6uietly and simply some of the desperate !onfli!ts that

he had had with sin, and how +od had iven him vi!tory. * thin% he did not tal% more than fifteen or twenty minutes, then sat down, bowed his head for a few minutes, and said, ?4et us have a season of prayer.5) )* remember how the little !ompany prostrated themselves upon the mats in the -riental manner, and then how for a lon time, man after man rose to his feet to pray, how there was su!h !onfession of sin as most of us had never heard before and su!h !ryin out to +od for mer!y and help. )*t was very late that ni ht when the little atherin bro%e up and some of us %now definitely of several lives that were wholly transformed throu h the influen!e of that meetin .)# 7u!h a tou!h of +od !ame to &yde that he said at the !lose of the !onvention, )* must not lose this vision.) But it !ame also to the see%ers after +od that met with him, and led dire!tly to the reat revival that bro%e out in the *ndian !hur!h. 'hat vision indeed bri htened and !ontinued to empower &yde and his !ollea ues in the days ahead. *t was a vision at on!e of +od5s love for sinners and &is hatred for sin. Mi hty love rea!hed out throu h &yde to rip the hearts of men and women and draw them !loser to +od, who was so mi htily at wor% in his own life. At the same time )+od laid on our hearts the burden of a world plun ed in sin,) one of the number wrote. 'he result was a transformin vision of the lorified Christ, who lives today to inter!ede for us. -ften, in the prayer room, John &yde would brea% out into tears )over the sins of the world and espe!ially of +od5s people.) &e found it blessed to enter into the fellowship of Christ5s sufferin s. *t was !onstantly uppermost in his mind how our 4ord still a oni@es for souls. &e would 6uote 7!ripture !onstantly on the privile e of )fillin up that whi!h was la!%in in the affli!tions of Christ.) Burdened for the thousands in his own distri!t without +od and without hope, &yde pleaded for them with sobs from the depths of his soul( )Aather, ive me these souls or * die.) &e used to say, )When we %eep near to Jesus it is &e who draws souls to &imself throu h us, but &e must be lifted up in our livesB that is, we must be !ru!ified with &im.) At times, su!h as the se!ond 7ial%ot Conferen!e, he )was !onstantly in the prayer room day and ni htB he lived there as on the Mount of 'ransfi uration. 'he words were burned into his brain as a !ommand from +od( )* have set wat!hmen upon thy walls, - Jerusalem, whi!h shall never hold their pea!e day nor ni ht( ye that are the 4ord5s remembran!ers ta%e ye no rest and ive him no rest till he establish... C*s. 28.2, DE.) *llness seemed to pla ue &yde fre6uently, for!in him to a summer station in the &imalayas for re!uperation. After a rest he would be able to plun e into his wor% a ain. *n #$=# he returned to Ameri!a for his first furlou h, durin whi!h he attended the 7tudent Folunteer Convention in 'oronto and visited many supportin !hur!hes. 'he next year he was ba!% in *ndia, where he started a trainin s!hool for low>!aste believers wantin to prepare for Christian wor%, and !ontinued his anointed ministry. But in #$#= illness for!ed his final departure from his beloved field. -n the way home, he spo%e at the Geswi!% Convention in 4ondon and parti!ipated in the Chapman>Alexander meetin s, as noted above. &e also en;oyed his first motor !ar ride and a visit to histori! 7tratford>on>Avon. &e re;oi!ed to be at home with so many lovin , !arin relatives and friends. But an operation revealed a mali nant tumor, and on Aeb. 8D, #$#8, John &yde, only H2, went to be with the 4ord. Multitudes of tributes poured in at the passin of the Apostle of 0rayer. Canon R.&.A. &aslam of Canada had served with &yde in *ndia. 'his is !ondensed and adapted from his later re!olle!tions, as well as others( )+od used John &yde as a mi hty exemplar for inter!essors and in the salvation of souls. )&is prayer life was mar%ed by(

1.Continuance. Ii ht and day, on o!!asion, he ave himself unreservedly to inter!ession. Iationals re!alled &yde as the Jsahib who sleeps little and prays mu!h. 2. Definiteness. *n everythin he sou ht the will of +od, no matter too lar e, none too small. &e be an prayin for the salvation of one pre!ious soul every day, and for years he led from four to ten people ea!h day to the 4ord. When he prayed in publi!, it seemed as thou h he saw +od ri ht in front of him. 3. Perfect surrender to the will of God. 'he overflow to the !hur!h of spiritual blessin s and of transformed lives is beyond des!ription. What is the le a!y of his life and testimony for the !hur!h today9 &. J. Bro%%e, in the forward to 0rayin &yde, said( )+od will not ive everyone the same ministry John &yde had. CButE if the &oly 7pirit !ontrols our lives &e will lead us into an effe!tive life of prayer not a !opy of John &yde5s, but a distin!tive prayer life of our own. &e tea!hes us all to pray.)8 #. Arom +od 4istens, by 7amuel Chadwi!%B !opyri ht #$D<. +ood Iews 0ublishersKCrossway Boo%s, Wheaton, *4 2=#1D. :sed by permission. 8. Arom 0rayin &yde, by Aran!is M!+aw, !opyri ht #$D=. Bethany &ouse, Minneapolis, MI 33H<1