Hudson Taylor and the Prayer That Opened China
He slipped out of church in the middle of the service. Behind him a thousand voices sang, and in his head one number pounded. A million a month. That was how many were dying in China without hearing the name of Jesus. Hudson Taylor stopped at the water’s edge on Brighton beach in June of 1865 and prayed a prayer that would open a nation.
The Beach Where Hudson Taylor Surrendered
Taylor had already served in China and come home broken in health. The burden for inland China would not lift, yet the size of the task crushed him. On that beach he finally rolled the whole weight onto God and asked for twenty-four willing, skillful workers, two for every unreached province. Once he surrendered, the vision finally had room to grow. If a story of a soul that could not let go of an unreached people moves you, read next about Lottie Moon, whose forty years in China shaped a movement.
Ten Pounds and a Bank Account Named Faith
Days later Taylor opened a bank account with ten pounds and a name, the China Inland Mission. He set one rule from the beginning. Never ask anyone for money. Tell God, and God alone. The workers came. The funds arrived, sometimes at the last possible hour. By the time Taylor died in China in 1905, the mission counted more than eight hundred missionaries and tens of thousands of Chinese believers. If Taylor’s radical trust for provision inspires you, read next about Amy Carmichael, whose India rescue work rested on the same quiet dependence.
How God Supplies What He Assigns
Paul wrote, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, NKJV). Taylor’s life proved that the supply follows the assignment. What has God placed in front of you that you keep measuring against your own resources? Take the step. Tell your Father the need before you tell anyone else, and give Him room to provide.
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. Hudson Taylor staked his life on that promise, and he was never put to shame.
And that, friend, is how God lifts up your day.