A missionary facing a situation where he could not speak the language well? A missionary who was partially deaf? A missionary who had witnessed no conversions? Surely, that sounds like an impossible situation. What would you do? This is what John Hyde did. In 1908, John Hyde began to pray, “God, give me one soul each day.” He prayed when he first awakened and continued praying each day for God to give him one soul. It appeared to be an impossible request for an impossible situation. He would pray sometimes for a full day, skipping meals and pleading with God to do the impossible. At the end of that year, his records showed that he had been used by God to lead over four hundred people to Christ.
In 1909, Hyde changed his prayer, asking God to give him two souls each day. At the end of that year, records showed that almost eight hundred people had given their life to Christ the Lord through this man’s prayers. After this, he became known as “Praying John Hyde.” God was working in an impossible situation to glorify His Name.
The following year, 1910, he changed his prayer again, praying, “O God, give me four souls each day, and nothing less.” At the end of that year, the records of the mission revealed that more than sixteen hundred people had received Christ Jesus as Master over life as result of John Hyde’s prayers. [5]
John Hyde died in 1912. It is fair to say that John Hyde accomplished more for the cause of the Kingdom of God in those few short years than most Christians accomplish in a lifetime. We wouldn’t be wrong to say that he accomplished more in those few short years than most churches accomplish in their lifetime. This is what God is prepared to do through His people when they are facing an impossible situation that drives them to look to God to accomplish the impossibility
