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Praying
Hyde---The Apostle of Prayer
By Bernard R. DeRemer
Jer
33:2-3 (KJV)
Thus saith the
LORD
the maker thereof, the
LORD that formed it, to establish it;
the LORD
is his name;
{3} Call
unto me, and I will answer thee,
and show thee great and
mighty things, which thou knowest not.
J. Wilbur Chapman and Charles M. Alexander, two of the most widely used evangelists of their era, were holding a great campaign in England during 1911. Because of special difficulties, Chapman asked John Hyde to intercede for him. This is how Chapman recalled the incident: "He came to my room, turned the key in the door, dropped on his knees, waited five minutes without a single syllable coming from his lips. I could hear my own heart thumping and his beating. I felt the tears running down my face. I knew I was with God. "Then, with upturned face, down which the tears were streaming, he said, Oh, God! Then for five minutes at least he was still again, and then, when he knew he was talking with God, his arm went around my shoulder, and there came up from the depth of his heart such petitions for men as I had never heard before. "I rose from my knees to know what real prayer was. We believe that prayer is mighty, and we believe it as we never did before." "Praying Hyde" was born in Carrollton, Ill., in 1865. His godly Presbyterian pastor father faithfully proclaimed the gospel and fervently interceded for workers to be thrust forth into the Lords harvest field. Thus, John grew up in a home frequented by visiting lecturers, missionaries, and others who combined to provide a liberal education in Christian matters. After graduation from Carthage College with high honors, he was offered a faculty position. However, he was divinely called to the regions beyond, so he enrolled at McCormick Seminary in Chicago. Completing his work there, he sailed for India in 1892. En route, he found good opportunities for "work on shipboard." But there was much more. A letter which reached him aboard ship challenged him to be filled with the Holy Spirit, as the great qualification for mission work. "Johns first reaction was anger and resentmenthadnt he already experienced this? But the rest of the voyage he gave himself to much prayer that he might indeed be filled with the Spirit and know experientially the promise of Acts 1:8. The answer to these prayers was the beginning of an incredibly powerful life of intercession. Arriving in India, Hyde faced the huge struggle of new language, climate, culture, and customs. Through long periods of intensive study, he became proficient in Urdu and Punjabi in order to reach the masses. Hyde was associated with the Punjab Prayer Union from its beginning, and it made a major contribution to his life and ministry. Members set themselves definitely and desperately to obtain spiritual awakening by prayer, and they persevered. One of their principles was to "set apart one half hour each day ... to pray for this awakening..." and to continue until it came. The Sialkot Convention and revival resulted from the heavy burden of prayer on the heart of John Hyde and his colleagues. Beforehand, Hyde and R. McCheyne Paterson spent 30 days and nights waiting on the Lord "for a mighty outpouring of His power." At the convention, while Hyde was addressing fellow missionaries on the work of the Holy Spirit, God spoke anew to his own soul and "opened up to him the divine plan of sanctification by faith. One of the other missionaries present at that meeting left this account: "One night he came into my study about half-past nine and began to talk to me about the value of public testimony. We had an earnest discussion until long after midnight. We had asked him on the next evening to lead a meeting for men.... When the time for the meeting arrived ... Mr. Hyde had not arrived. We began to sing, and sang several numbers before he did come in, quite late. "He sat down on the mat in front of us and sat silently for a considerable time. Then he arose and said very quietly, Brothers, I did not sleep any last night and I have not eaten anything today. I have been having a great controversy with God. I feel that He has wanted me to come here and testify to you concerning some things that He had done for me, and I have been arguing with Him.... Only a little while ago have I got peace concerning the matter and I have agreed to obey Him, and now I have come to tell you just some of the things that He has done for me. "After making this brief statement he told us very quietly and simply some of the desperate conflicts that he had had with sin, and how God had given him victory. I think he did not talk more than fifteen or twenty minutes, then sat down, bowed his head for a few minutes, and said, Let us have a season of prayer." "I remember how the little company prostrated themselves upon the mats in the Oriental manner, and then how for a long time, man after man rose to his feet to pray, how there was such confession of sin as most of us had never heard before and such crying out to God for mercy and help. "It was very late that night when the little gathering broke up and some of us know definitely of several lives that were wholly transformed through the influence of that meeting."1 Such a touch of God came to Hyde that he said at the close of the convention, "I must not lose this vision." But it came also to the seekers after God that met with him, and led directly to the great revival that broke out in the Indian church. That vision indeed brightened and continued to empower Hyde and his colleagues in the days ahead. It was a vision at once of Gods love for sinners and His hatred for sin. Mighty love reached out through Hyde to grip the hearts of men and women and draw them closer to God, who was so mightily at work in his own life. At the same time "God laid on our hearts the burden of a world plunged in sin," one of the number wrote. The result was a transforming vision of the glorified Christ, who lives today to intercede for us. Often, in the prayer room, John Hyde would break out into tears "over the sins of the world and especially of Gods people." He found it blessed to enter into the fellowship of Christs sufferings. It was constantly uppermost in his mind how our Lord still agonizes for souls. He would quote Scripture constantly on the privilege of "filling up that which was lacking in the afflictions of Christ." Burdened for the thousands in his own district without God and without hope, Hyde pleaded for them with sobs from the depths of his soul: "Father, give me these souls or I die!" He used to say, "When we keep near to Jesus it is He who draws souls to Himself through us, but He must be lifted up in our lives; that is, we must be crucified with Him." At times, such as the second Sialkot Conference, he "was constantly in the prayer room day and night; he lived there as on the Mount of Transfiguration. The words were burned into his brain as a command from God: "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are the Lords remembrancers take ye no rest and give him no rest till he establish... (Is. 62.6, 7)." Illness seemed to plague Hyde frequently, forcing him to a summer station in the Himalayas for recuperation. After a rest he would be able to plunge into his work again. In 1901 he returned to America for his first furlough, during which he attended the Student Volunteer Convention in Toronto and visited many supporting churches. The next year he was back in India, where he started a training school for low-caste believers wanting to prepare for Christian work, and continued his anointed ministry. But in 1910 illness forced his final departure from his beloved field. On the way home, he spoke at the Keswick Convention in London and participated in the Chapman-Alexander meetings, as noted above. He also enjoyed his first motor car ride and a visit to historic Stratford-on-Avon. He rejoiced to be at home with so many loving, caring relatives and friends. But an operation revealed a malignant tumor, and on Feb. 27, 1912, John Hyde, only 46, went to be with the Lord. Multitudes of tributes poured in at the passing of the Apostle of Prayer. Canon R.H.A. Haslam of Canada had served with Hyde in India. This is condensed and adapted from his later recollections, as well as others: "God used John Hyde as a mighty exemplar for intercessors and in the salvation of souls. "His prayer life was marked by: Continuance. Night and day, on occasion, he gave himself unreservedly to intercession. Nationals recalled Hyde as the sahib who sleeps little and prays much. Definiteness. In everything he sought the will of Godno matter too large, none too small. He began praying for the salvation of one precious soul every day, and for years he led from four to ten people each day to the Lord. When he prayed in public, it seemed as though he saw God right in front of him. Perfect surrender to the will of God. The overflow to the church of spiritual blessings and of transformed lives is beyond description. What is the legacy of his life and testimony for the church today? H. J. Brokke, in the forward to Praying Hyde, said: "God will not give everyone the same ministry John Hyde had. (But) if the Holy Spirit controls our lives He will lead us into an effective life of prayernot a copy of John Hydes, but a distinctive prayer life of our own. He teaches us all to pray."2 1. From God Listens, by Samuel Chadwick; copyright 1973. Good News Publishers/Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL 60187. Used by permission. 2. From Praying Hyde, by
Francis McGaw, copyright 1970. Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN
55438
(1 Th 5:17 KJV)
Pray without ceasing.
(Luke 18:1 KJV)
And he spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to
faint;
(Luke 21:36 KJV)
Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that
shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of
man.
(Rom 12:12 KJV)
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant(G= be constantly diligent) in
prayer;
(Eph 6:18 KJV)
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for
all saints;
(Col 4:2-3 KJV)
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
{3} Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door
of utterance,
to speak the mystery of
Christ,
for which I am also in
bonds:
(1 Pet 4:7 KJV)
But the end of all things is at
hand:
be ye therefore sober(G=be of sound
mind)
and watch(G=abstaining from wine) unto
prayer.
(Psa 5 KJV)
To the
chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.
Give ear
to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
{2}
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my
God:
for
unto thee will I pray.
{3} My
voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;
in the
morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
{4} For
thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:
neither
shall evil dwell with thee.
{5} The
foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
{6} Thou
shalt destroy them that speak leasing(H=lies, deceit):
the LORD
will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
{7} But
as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy
mercy:
and
in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
{8}
Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;
make thy
way straight before my face.
{9} For
there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very
wickedness;
their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with
their tongue.
{10}
Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels;
cast them
out in the multitude of their transgressions;
for they
have rebelled against thee.
{11} But
let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:
let them
ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:
let them
also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
{12} For
thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous;
with
favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Jer 29:11-14a (KJV)
For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, saith the LORD,
thoughts of peace, and
not of evil,
to give you an expected
end.
{12}
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me,
and I will hearken unto
you.
{13}
And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall
search for me with all your heart.
{14} And I
will be found of you, saith the LORD.
Psa 50:14-17 (KJV)
Offer unto God
thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
{15}
And call upon me in the day of trouble:
I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt
glorify me.
{16} But
unto the wicked God saith,
What hast thou to do to
declare my statutes,
or that thou
shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
{17}
Seeing thou hatest instruction,
and castest my words
behind thee.
Psa 91:14-16 (KJV)
Because he hath set his
love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high,
because he hath known my name.
{15}
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be
with him in trouble;
I will deliver
him, and honour him.
{16} With
long life will I satisfy him,
and show him my
salvation.
Psa
145:17-21 (KJV)
The LORD
is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
{18} The
LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him,
to all that call upon
him in truth.
{19}
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him:
he also will hear their
cry, and will save them.
{20}
The LORD preserveth all them that love him:
but all the wicked will
he destroy.
{21}
My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD:
and let all flesh
bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Luke 11:9-10
(KJV)
And I say
unto you,
Ask, and it shall
be given you;
seek, and ye
shall find;
knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.
{10} For every one that
asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh
findeth;
and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
Rom 10:12-13 (KJV)
For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek:
for the same Lord over
all is rich unto all that call upon him.
{13}
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.
IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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In
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