Be A World Changer

A couple of my recent morning devotionals have talked about a man named John Hyde.  He was born in Illinois and was the son of a minister.  He attended college then went on to seminary where in his senior year, he believed that he was being called to be a missionary and that he was supposed to go to India – which he did in 1892.

In the beginning he didn’t see a lot of results in his ministry and endured persecution; but, in 1899 he determined to be a man of intentional prayer and was known to spend entire nights in prayer.  In 1904 he formed a group that was determined to set aside a half hour every day to pray for spiritual revival.  In 1908 he told a conference that his dream was for there to be at least one convert every day – a year later there had been 400 conversions.  The next year the request to God was to double that – it happened.  The year after that he doubled it again – again it was answered.  Because he was so faithful in his prayer life he became known as “Praying Hyde”.  (According to Wikipedia, he returned to the U.S. and died of a brain tumor in 1912 at the age of 46 with his last words being “Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!.”)   

I doubt that there are that many people in the world today that spend as much time in fervent prayer as John Hyde did.  But I’m certain there are many prayer warriors that do devote much more time in prayer than most of us do.  How many of us even set aside a time each day for any prayer at all?  It’s so easy to allow the daily grind to interfere with our time with God and we come up with all kinds of rationalizations.  We should not forget these words:  “Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving.”  (Colossians 4:2 AMP)

The Bible is full of stories of wonderful prayer warriors.  I did a bit of research and here are just three people among the many, that are wonderful examples of how we should pray:

Hannah – She was childless and had prayed for years for a child.  One year when their family had traveled to Shiloh she went to the Tabernacle.  1 Samuel 1:10-11 (TLB) says:  “She was in deep anguish and was crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.  And she made this vow: ‘O Lord of heaven, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you, and he’ll be yours for his entire lifetime…’”  Then in verse 17b (TLB) Eli the priest says to her:  “‘…cheer up! May the Lord of Israel grant you your petition, whatever it is!’”  As a result we see this in verses 19b-10 (TLB):  “…the Lord remembered her petition; in the process of time, a baby boy was born to her. She named him Samuel (meaning ‘asked of God’) because, as she said, ‘I asked the Lord for him.’”  If Hannah had given up over time instead of praying for years, the great Prophet Samuel may never have been born.  When our prayers are not answered as quickly as we’d like, we shouldn’t give up – ever.

David – “King David was a warrior at heart, but not just in the physical battlefield but also in the spirit. He was a man who prayed in every situation he encountered. He is a man who understood the power of prayer and trusted God to answer him. We see this all throughout his life story and his psalms…From King David, we learn that we should pray on all occasions because God cares about every area of our lives. We should pray when we need wisdom, when we are in trouble, when we are happy, etc. This is truly what the lifestyle of a prayer warrior should be!”  (Quote from https://thinkaboutsuchthings.com/prayer-warriors-in-the-bible/)

Jesus – We cannot consider Biblical prayer warriors without recognizing Jesus as the greatest among them all.   In Mark 1 you read about how Jesus had spent time in the synagogue teaching, then He healed many sick and delivered many people from evil spirits.  What did He do after such a stressful and demanding day?  “The next morning he was up long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.”  (Mark 1:35 TLB)  I can only imagine how His spirit needed refreshing and He knew the best way to get it was to pray.  If we, like Jesus, will start our days with prayer then we will be better equipped to face any situation; and, we should be certain to pray for others as well.

John 17 is a great example of how Jesus prayed for His disciples – those present with Him at that time, as well as those to come.  John 17:20-21 (TLB) “‘I am not praying for these alone but also for the future believers who will come to me because of the testimony of these. My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.’”  

These three prayer warriors from Biblical times as well as John Hyde were world changers.  We may not affect the world at large with our prayers, but we may change the world for those near us – people that need to meet the Lord as their Savior – people that need strength to face their daily issues –  people that need healings (physical, emotional, spiritual) – people that need hope or joy.  Let’s be determined to press through in our prayers and ask God to help us be a world changer for someone – anyone.       

Written by Karran Martin – April 6, 2024

[All bold emphasis is mine]