Download Praying Hyde, Apostle of Prayer: The Life Story of John Hyde eBook

I learned a lot about prayer from this book! John Hyde was an American missionary who ministered in what is today northern India and Pakistan in the early 1900’s. Today, he is known as “Praying Hyde.”

In 1896 Hyde traveled around to many villages in Pubjab. He wrote, “This year there were no conversions in the villages. There were last year. What is the reason?” His solution was to fall to his knees in prayer. He began to cry out to God for lost souls. He often prayed all day long and through the night, forgoing food and sleep. He was often seen crying as he prayed, “O God, give me souls or I die.”

Hyde’s passion for prayer led to the formation of the Punjab Prayer Union. Their goal was to dedicate themselves to praying for revival.

Hyde saw a need to encourage and train pastors so he invited a group of local pastors to the city of Sialkot for a convention in 1904. Before the first meeting, Hyde spent thirty days on his face before God in prayer. Because of the prayer saturated environment, there was a great outpouring of God’s Spirit. Many confessed their sins and pledged themselves to seek God.

At the Sialkot Convention in following years, there was great “brokenheartedness for sin” and a burden for lost souls. One brother who attended the convention describes what he saw, “Oh, what an awful vision I have had! Thousands of souls in this land…being carried away by the dark river of sin! They are in hell now. Oh, to snatch them from the fire before it is too late.”

In 1908, John Hyde announced at the Sialkot Convention that he was believing for at least one soul to be saved everyday. He asked God, not just for a seeker, but “a soul saved, ready to confess Christ in public and be baptized in his name.” In a nation where some churches went years without any conversions, many thought his goal was impossible. But, John Hyde began to pray and travel and preach. He encouraged those who worked with him to find lost sheep.

One of his friends reported that Hyde “would engage a man in a talk about his salvation. By and by he would have his hands on the man’s shoulder’s, be 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.”

By the end of that year, over four hundred new believers had been baptized! In 1909, John Hyde asked God for an even more audacious request. He wanted two souls to be saved every day. If the daily quota was not filled, his response was to stay up all night in prayer crying out for God to give him souls. As he focused on soul winning, he found himself drawing closer to the heart of God. He preached, “When we keep near to Jesus it is He who draws souls to Himself through us.”

Over eight hundred people were saved that year and at the Sialkot Convention in 1910 the vision was enlarged once again. That year, Hyde set a goal of leading at least four people to Jesus every day. His example challenged other pastors and missionaries. Some ministries that had experienced years of little or no fruit suddenly saw hundreds coming into the kingdom of God.

Much of what God has done in Pakistan and northern India in the past one hundred years can be traced back to the original Sialkot Convention and John Hyde. This year, I have been invited to be a speaker at the Sialkot Convention. We will hold Gospel meetings right next to the house where John Hyde used to pray. I believe God is bringing us to the epicenter, ground zero, of what He has done in Pakistan. This is not by accident. God is raising up a new generation of preachers who are passionate about soul winning. The prayers of John Hyde still ring true! The greatest harvest of souls in Pakistan is still ahead and I am privileged to play a part in what God is doing.

John Hyde firmly declared that a man should be crucifed, dead, and buried (Galatians 2:20, 5:24, 6:14); otherwise he stinks and drives would-be-followers away.

John Hyde lived that reality perfectly. A man was sent by evil people to find out John Hyde's faults. After living with him several days, he ran away back to his evil people shouting something like, "He's perfect, he's perfect! He's a god!"

He spent 30 days and nights, the implication being without sleep or food the whole time, seeking God for his power before the first Sialkot convention. As the writer writes, "Is there any wonder there was such power there?"

This man obeyed God 100%. He never gave into man. He gave everything just to save as many as possible, and at one point he laid hold of God in prayer that God would save at least 8 people per day.

If only all God's people would do this today. Then we would complete our mission quickly. Instead we have all these strategies, techniques, conferences, seminars, books, etc. But we have no fruit. John 15:1-8 should make us tremble with fear.

Let this book be to the reader both an incredible encouragement of the nearness and availibility of the Lord through much prayer, and a warning to us lest we become comfortable and fat and miss the desire of the heart of our dear Lord Jesus.

I had heard about Praying Hyde 30 years ago and been impressed. Recently the name kept coming to mind. This book is for anyone longing to pray effectively and not just "put in time." Hyde's example of how to pray and what to pray is instructive, and the examples of God's Spirit being poured out as a result are encouraging. We are reminded that as before the Day of Pentecost we today are "shut up unto prayer" -- the disciples were scattered, their mission was obscure, and the church lacked the power to carry out our Lord's will and work in the world. This book has made me resolve to "make prayer the main business of my life."

Prayer is simply staying with God. Not staying with God as we go along with business as usual but literally staying with God and him alone. John Hyde's life is one of those rare diamonds that God once in a while mixes with the rough. What was possible with Hyde then is possible with anyone today who is willing to make God's business his business.

Although short and in some cases repetitive the overall effect is a catharsis to the spirit. The perseverance and faithfulness of John Hyde truly exemplifies a wholesale submission to the Lord. Just as he was in life so is the recounting of his life to readers an encouragement to closely examine our relationship with Jesus and find how much more resolute we could be in seeking Him. It is the kind of publication that can be quickly read initially. Yet, compels the reader to reread and take notes while contemplating the extraordinary pervasiveness of Hyde's effect on the people he encountered. I recommend this book for those who desire to expand their heart for God.

This is one of the top 5 books on prayer that I have read. The example of John Hyde is inspiring. He demonstrated that a person yielded to God (and willing to be used as the answer to his own prayer) can still change the world through prayer. This is an exceptional book.

The writing style is clear, engaging and inspiring.

I learned about John Hyde while researching for my soon-to-be published book Prayers that Changed History. I was intrigued because I'd never heard his name before. What an inspiring man! John truly dedicated his life to prayer. Even as he worked all day as a missionary he spent most nights awake in prayer. John's testimony has inspired my prayer life!

I was blessed in reading this. Persistence is the key and this book underscores that.