Have you ever heard of Rees Howells?
I had not until I began my most recent project.
I’ve now read Norman Grubb‘s book, Rees Howells, Intercessor, and have a few questions about how Howells–and his friend Lettie Cowman— prayed.
Maybe you can help me?
What is the longest time period you have ever prayed?
My question comes from my study of Lettie Cowman, author of Streams in the Desert and a 21-year president of the Oriental Missionary Society (OMS, now called One Mission Society).
Lettie and her husband Charles (who died in 1924) relied on prayer to understand God’s will for their lives. They were careful to not take any steps of faith without hours of prayer beforehand.
They also fasted and searched their Bibles as they prayed.
Sometimes they prayed for days on end.
On at least two specific occasions it changed their lives–and that of many others.
Why read about Rees Howells?
A friend suggested I read his biography to understand better how he prayed. She thought Lettie’s prayer life resembled Howells’s.
The two were friends, and one of the significant prayer changes in Lettie’s ministry came at Howells’ suggestion.
The founder and president of The Bible College of Wales, Howells based his life on hours spent listening to God.
Stories abound of God’s activity as a result of prayer from Howells and those at his school.
Did you know that the Bible College of Wales students prayed from 7-11 every night during WWII for their nation?
Why had I never heard that story before?
Some believe Rees Howells’s intercessory prayers, and that of his students helped save England. You’ll have to read Rees Howells, Intercessor to learn how and why!
How did Rees Howells pray?
First, an intercessor is someone who prays on behalf of another person.
That’s how Howells saw himself.
He had a profound meeting with Jesus and then the Holy Spirit. It changed everything about how he saw his life. He surrendered everything into God’s hands.
And then the miracles began to happen–always as the result of prayer.
As Grubb recounts:
Perhaps believers in general have regarded intercession as just some form of rather intensified prayer.
It is, so long as there is an emphasis on the word “intensified;” for there are three things to be seen in an intercessor which are not necessarily found in the ordinary prayer: identification, agony and authority.
Rees Howells, Intercessor p 100
It means identifying with the person’s need and agony, essentially taking on the person’s agony and praying for them. (See Exodus 17:8-13)
The authority to deal with issues comes from impartially waiting before God for an answer. It often takes intense praying over a more extended period than most of us spend in prayer.
Prayer warriors vs. intercessors
There’s a difference between the two.
Grubbs:
Prayer warriors can pray for things to be done, without necessarily being willing for the answers to come through themselves. They are not even bound to continue in the prayers until they are answered.
But intercessors are responsible to gain their objectives, and they can never be free until they have gained them. They will go to any lengths for the prayers to be answered through themselves.
But once a position of intercession has been gained, tested and proved, intercessors can claim all the blessings on that grade whenever it is God’s will for them to do so.”
Rees Howells, Intercessor p 121-122
Rees Howells and Lettie Cowman
Wales 1936 (OMS photo)
In 1936, Howells invited Lettie Cowman to speak at the “Every Creature Missionary and Intercessory Conference” at the Bible College of Wales.
As the featured speaker, Lettie Cowman spoke the first night, and Howells then asked her to talk nightly for the entire week. Lettie told stories about OMS, from Charles’ original vision to the fulfilments.
The convention featured people from all over the world.
She knows God is flowing through her to these hearts. She seems enveloped in the presence of God.
Strangely–all seems so strange, so wonderful–Mr. Howells has the vision too. God is leading him to evangelize the world. Her heart is gripped, stirred. Her prayers, her admiration are with all who attempt great things for God. She seeks cautiously to feel her way. What is the Lord saying to her?
The Vision Lives (written in the present tense, sorry) p. 134
After the convention, Howells asked Lettie to remain in her room to pray. “God has something to tell you. We will send meals.”
Lettie prayed for three days. The answer surprised her.
Lettie’s prayer experience
Lettie knew she was in Wales because God had directed her steps. The trip came together in a surprising way for her.
At 6 am on Sunday morning, August 10, 1936, the Lord speaks: “I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations”
She sees that before she was born, God planned her life. She is guided to Psalm 139. Even in her ancestry God had her in mind. She wonders what it means to be ordained, “a prophet unto the nations.” It is too strange to take hold of all at once.”
The Vision Lives by B. H. Pearson p 134
Having prayed as directed, Lettie believed God had a new ministry ahead of her. She left the room and attended the Sunday morning service.
The missionary preacher that day read the first chapter of Jeremiah. Her ears pricked up at one of the early verses:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1, ESV
She’d been thinking about the same passage. Here, it was echoed by someone unknown. For many people, scripture or Biblical concepts that keep coming up usually are a sign God is calling for our attention.
But what does it mean?
Monday she shared with Rees Howells God’s sacred dealings with her soul. Staff members come to her room for prayer. She has a God-planned week in her room. A conference visitor sends her $1000. She seeks God’s will earnestly . . . she joins in the college fast and prayer day.
The Vision lives p 135
Lettie spent three weeks pondering the Bible passages, praying, thinking, and examining the circumstances. By the end of that time, she knew she was to launch a ministry to the world–whatever that meant.
And then, while taking a walk in the garden, she met a couple from Finland. They asked her to bring the gospel to their nation.
Which, in an extraordinary way, she did–as an answer to prayer.
From Lettie’s copy of Rees Howells, Intercessor,
OMS archives
Why does it take so long?
Ah, there’s the question! Can’t we simply tell God what we want Him to do and move on?
When someone approaches you and flings a list of demands and then walks away, how do you feel?
How much time do we want to spend with a person we love? What if we’re discussing something big–like a change in our lives?
Don’t we talk it through, examine options, discuss implications, wonder if we’ve made the right decision? Don’t we discuss it together?
Why wouldn’t God feel the same way?
Of course, we know He can do anything, but often praying about an issue, wrestling with it, changes how we look at it.
It can take time, particularly if it’s very big. That’s why it can be called wrestling, right?
Still thinking–and praying.
Rees Howells’s life is an example of a man thoroughly wedded to his Creator. I’m still pondering what it means and if his–and Lettie’s –prayer lives should be an example for mine.
Rees Howells, Intercessor helped me understand something of Lettie’s prayer life–and that’s important.
But what about you? What’s the longest you’ve ever prayed?
Tweetables
A fantastic intercessor for God: Rees Howells. Click to Tweet
HOW do you pray for days at a time? Click to Tweet
Days of prayer and fasting with surprising results. Click to Tweet
Great post. Good to see the pictures,
Such a valuable column, Michelle. We need to know how to pray–and do it! The Cowmans are more familiar than Rees Howells, but they reflect the depth of prayer of our Lord.
The longest I’ve prayed? 4 hours perhaps. After the few times I’ve done a half-day of prayer, I always ask myself why I don’t do it more often. It is such a blessing; one feels in touch with God, with life itself. Three helpful lists I learned from the Navigators prayer guide: 1) a worry list, 2) a to-do list, and of course, 3) my prayer list. By having all 3 at hand, I quickly jot down anything that comes to mind (distractions) aside from those on my prayer list. That way, they are summarily dealt with, and I can return to the focus of my prayers.