Lessons From A Haystack
In her article about the 1806 Haystack Prayer Meeting, Megan Hill shares, “... a Williams College student named Samuel Mills began to pray for the cause of foreign missions. Until then, the missionary organizations in the United States were solely dedicated to domestic missions, but Mills prayed that the Lord would raise up men to take the gospel to other nations.”
Hill continues, “One August day, Mills assembled a small group of spiritually minded friends who prayed together outside of campus for foreign missions. Some accounts say there was a sudden thunderstorm as they were praying, which caused the five men to take refuge under a haystack. In answer to the prayers from among the haystacks, God established the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, the American Bible Society, and the United Foreign Missionary Society.”
As you read the article, Megan points out four lessons she takes away from the historical narrative:
1. God uses people in the middle of nowhere to plead for the souls of people everywhere.
2. God uses people who are young to stir up people of all ages.
3. God uses people who are few in number to gather a countless harvest.
4. God uses invisible and seemingly insignificant events to accomplish his great purposes.
“In 1806, the world did not notice what was happening at the edge of campus. But the Lord did. Because of the prayers, the laborers were sent. Because of the laborers, the gospel was preached. Because of the gospel, people were saved. Like a haystack in a field, praying together can seem ordinary and unremarkable. But viewed from eternity, it is one of history’s most significant events.”
On April 2, Campus Outreach staff, students, alumni, and supporters will meet together to pray over 24 hours. They will gather in apartments, churches, and homes worldwide and pray together, asking the Lord to send laborers into the world. You can be one of the “few in number” God uses to accomplish his great purpose. Click this link to save your spot!