Praying Hyde

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

John Hyde was a missionary to India in the 19^th century. They called him “Praying Hyde” for John Hyde was known to pray to God for hours and hours. He was also known as “the man who never sleeps,” because he would forget to eat or sleep because he was always praying.

Francis McGaw, who wrote the book “Praying Hyde,” writes in his book:

At times I thought Hyde would break down completely. But after nights of prayer and praise he would appear fresh and smiling in the morning.” The Lord would always sustain His servant, and when asked, he said that he had “scarcely ever felt tired, though he has had at times little sleep for weeks. No man need ever break down through overstrain in this ministry of intercession. (McGaw 1970:38)

He would spend all his time in praying for souls to be saved and one of his famous prayer was, “Oh God, give me souls or I die!” He was indeed a man of prayer. As a result thousands of people in India were touched and transformed.

Let’s ask ourselves, ‘How much do we pray?’ Yes, we pray at meal times, or before going to bed. But we can pray more than that. E.G. White tells us: In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual intercourse with our heavenly Father. Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite. (Steps to Christ)

One time, when I had issues I spoke to my dad about it over Skype. As I was expecting an answer from dad who is an experienced pastor, mom suddenly appeared into the monitor and spoke up, “It’s because you didn’t pray enough!”

We need to pray. It’s never enough. Every moment and opportunity we have, we need to pray. Let’s talk to God.