James 5:16, ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’
’DAILY READING Acts 24:10-27; Judges 21; Psalm 46
Revivals are born in the womb of prayer. When John Wesley prayed, England was revived; when John Knox prayed, Scotland was shaken by God’s power and likewise when John Nelson Hyde prayed India was affected for Jesus.
John Nelson Hyde who was one of the greatest missionaries to India, was born the son of a Presbyterian minister. His father, Rev Smith Harris Hyde, was a Presbyterian minister who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel message and called on the Lord to send out laborers into His harvest. He prayed this prayer not only in the pulpit but also at his home. And interestingly one of the biggest answers to this prayer would come through his son, John.
Around 1892, John came to believe that God was calling him to India as a missionary, and so he departed to India to preach in the Punjab region. However, when he first arrived in India he found the people very unreceptive to the Gospel. For eight years he labored without any results. It seemed that no matter how hard he worked, no matter how many people he witnessed to, nothing happened. The lack of conversion drove him into deep prayer. He would spend hours and hours with The Lord, forgetting about sleep and food, standing in the gap for believers and those to be saved. “Oh God, give me souls or I die!” would become one of his most famous prayers. He finally decided to pray and fast until there was revival. For some days he did not eat and he spent each day on his face before God praying that He would open up the hearts of the people. At one time, during those days, he spent continuous hours on his knees, begging God for His power. The Indians began to call him “The man who never sleeps.” And he became known widely as “Praying Hyde”. It was not long after those days before his prayers began to have their desired effect. After a time of fruitlessness on the mission field, the Lord started moving. Through his ministry God’s revival power would sweep through the land. Many indigenous people were touched by this move of God, thereby. bringing many souls to Christ. Indeed through John Hyde God changed the spiritual landscape of India. And today, he is celebrated today as one of the greatest missionaries to ever come to that nation.
Though many saw the glory, very few knew the story of John Hyde’s desperate hunger and perseverance in the place of prayer. The truth is that you can receive answers to prayer, if only you are willing to pay the price of seeking until you find. Prayer is a ministry of the secret place, but God rewards you openly. Jesus promised in Mathew 21:22 that ‘all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Indeed we can have our requests met when we encounter God’s wonder working power in prayer. But for that to happen, we must be hungry for it. God is committed to filling those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is a law of the spirit that only the hungry get filled. Christianity is a faith of responsibility., every provision in scriptures has its conditions. And it is only those who seek that find. Indeed God will reward you when you diligently seek Him.
James 5:16 says ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’
“Effectual fervent prayer” is absolutely one of the keys to revival.. Looking around us today, we can see our nation needs great revival, our cities and families need revival. Even in our personal lives there is constant need for fresh fire. But revival will come when we are willing to cry out in desperate prayers to God.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Indeed if we pay the price of prayer God will heal our land. It is time therefore to pray down revival. Enough of tolerating oppression and afflictions. Enough of making excuses for failure. Enough of watching things go from bad to worse in our nation. Things will change when we cry between the porch and the altar. Let us engage God’s power to establish a forceful turnaround to our situations. Let us cry out in prayer until we see our desired solutions. When we get into the depth of prayer we will see God’s power in a new and greater dimension. Indeed whatsoever we desire, as we continue to table them before God in this season we can be sure of speedy answers.
PRAYER: Lord, please grant me a deeper desire for prayer. By Your grace, prayer shall indeed become a delight to me. And as I persevere in the place of prayer I thank You for Your Divine visitation that will bring revival to every area of my life in Jesus Name.
QUOTE
There is something that God has placed within you that the world is eagerly awaiting to see. WORDBITE 222