The Legacy of DL Moody in a Movement

DL Moody founded two schools in Massachusetts in addition to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. One of those schools served as the backdrop to the birth of an entire movement. And it all began with prayer. Today, Dr. Quiggle explains.

By Greg Quiggle, dean, International Study Programs

The motto of the Student Volunteer Movement was “The evangelization of the world in this generation.” This movement, founded in the late nineteenth century, produced an estimated 100,000 missionaries until its dissolution in 1959. It is a testament to prayer and one of the many endeavors of DL Moody.

The ultimate origins of the movement can be traced to the prayers of a brother and sister named Robert and Grace Wilder. Grace was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College where Mr. Moody served as a trustee of the school. She developed a burden for foreign missions and prayer and enlisted her younger brother Robert, a student at Princeton, in her prayer efforts. Between 1884 and 1886 the two engaged in consistent and persistent prayer asking God for a great missionary awakening among college students.

In 1886, their prayers were answered through Mr. Moody and a gathering of college men on the campus of one of Moody’s schools, the Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Mass. Mr. Moody planned a series of meetings for college men in the summer of 1886 and Robert Wilder was invited to attend along with several others from Princeton. Before they left for Mount Hermon, Grace gathered the young Princeton men together and charged them to persevere in prayer so that this gathering might not close without the inauguration of a missionary movement.

The meetings convened with 251 young men from 89 different colleges. Mr. Moody spoke to the men for nearly four weeks and urged them to pray for a quickening from the Holy Spirit. As the students prayed, they began expressing a concern for the lost overseas. By the end of the meetings, 100 men had committed themselves to overseas missions. They became known as the Mount Hermon 100. These were the first of thousands who, many at Mr. Moody’s urging, would follow their example. These students would go throughout the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they would literally transform the face of the Church.

It all started with the prayers of a single college aged women. Prayer really does matter.

Setting Aside Time for Prayer

Each year Moody Bible Institute’s students, staff and faculty engage in a full day of prayer. Today, Dean Arens reflects on this essential annual event.

By Tim Arens, dean of students, Student Development

One of the things that I have appreciated about my time at Moody (27 years now) is the emphasis and commitment that is made to pray. One significant event that demonstrates this is our annual Day of Prayer held on the first Wednesday of March. This is a day on which classes are suspended and various opportunities are made for students, faculty and staff to pray corporately, in groups, and individually for the needs of Moody, Chicago and the world.

On the morning of this day everyone comes together for a two hour opening session during which we praise the Lord through music, scripture and prayer. We often break into small prayer groups during this time which give students an opportunity to pray with faculty and staff.  I have been humbled and encouraged to hear the fervent prayers of our students as they pour their hearts out to the Lord on behalf of our community. They never cease to amaze me.

I have had the honor to witness how the students are positively affected by praying with faculty and staff who serve as models for effective prayer. Concurrently, the students have modeled for the faculty and staff the necessity to set aside dedicated times for prayer emphasis in the future. Over the years I have had many students comment to me that the Day of Prayer was just what they needed, at such a busy time of the semester, to be spiritually rejuvenated to better meet the challenges of life and academics.

I have been so blessed in my career at Moody to be involved with The Day of Prayer. It is a wonderful tradition that helps us all, students and staff, maintain the proper spiritual perspective. May God continue to bless the school that D.L. Moody founded as we continue to pray faithfully.

Interceding Prayer

There are many prayerful employees at Moody Bible Institute but one in particular always seems to stand out as often you can find him praying for the students and staff in the Culbertson Hall prayer chapel. Today we hear from him and his experience praying through his work at Moody.

By, Oakley Smith, custodial administrator, Facilities

I have found that on rare occasion, communication with another person reaches paramount level. My spirit affirms that the person so well understands and experiences my thoughts and motives that it causes great inward rejoicing and at least for that circumstance, I have found good fellowship.

When we come to God with a clean and open heart, we can begin to understand His ways and view things from His perspective.  We identify with Him and agree with Him.

In the 1982-1983 school year I had regular contact with a student who helped me wash windows during his freshman year.  In his last two years at Moody he worked off campus but we stayed in contact.  He had a heart for Latin America and since his graduation God has used him to show the love of Jesus in several countries. I consider it a privilege to pray for him work he is doing. Individuals have been saved and lives changed through his ministry, and although I am not physically there it is an honor to have a part through the prayers I pray. In similar fashion, a few years ago I met another student with special talents and a great spirit; he is now part of a team spreading God’s love in a difficult place, and it is a joy to have a part in seeing Him work.

Moody Bible Institute is a unique place; God's providential hand has graced us for 125 years.  For all of our multi-faceted programs and contacts, there is no doubt that the students always have been and still are the heart of our ministry, and serving them is the core of our work. I have had the opportunity to get to know members of the student body pretty well.  My hope is that when God leads us into specific, regular contact with certain students we will take the opportunity of active prayer on their behalf, thus taking part in Jesus' work. Much like our founder D.L. Moody, I pray our hearts would be burdened for the children, or in this case the young adults.

A Look into D.L. Moody’s Prayer Life

As we continue our theme of prayer for the weeks leading up to the 125 Hours of Prayer today we learn from a professor about the prayer life of Moody Bible Institute’s founder.

By Gregg Quiggle, dean, International Study Programs

In 1923, one of Dwight Lyman Moody’s closest associates, R. A. Torrey, preached a sermon titled, “Why God Used D. L. Moody.” In the sermon, Torrey gave seven reasons why God used Mr. Moody. One of the seven Torrey identified was that, “Mr. Moody was in the deepest and most meaningful sense a man of prayer.” Even a cursory glance at Moody’s life confirms Torrey’s evaluation.

           

Early in his life as a believer, Moody came to learn of the importance and benefit of prayer. He had begun his life of faith as a result of the work of a Sunday school teacher in 1855 and shortly thereafter, he struck out for Chicago. There he became involved in a prayer based revival that swept through the major cities in America. He immersed himself in the meetings, rarely missing an evening of prayer and they became foundational for how he later approached ministry. In fact, virtually everywhere he traveled over the course of his life, he organized prayer meetings.

           

During these years, Moody befriended the godly owner of his boarding house. Mrs. H. Phillips, or “Mother” Phillips as she was commonly known, was a stalwart at the First Baptist Church and she schooled Moody on the necessity of faithful prayer. He took those lessons to heart as prayer became a central part of his life.

           

Moody always demanded intense and focused prayer in preparation for his revival campaigns. When he began new projects he often called on the students and faculty of his schools to devote themselves to fasting and prayer.

Emphasizing the importance and power of prayer was so important to Moody it was one of the predominant characteristics of the schools in both Northfield and Chicago. His student conferences in Northfield featured 6:00 a.m. prayer meetings and he organized prayer meetings for children. Later, he would say that “Some of the happiest nights I ever had were in these children’s prayer meetings…”

D.L. Moody not only worked hard for the Lord, but he also he prayed hard as he worked. His life and enduring work stand as an eloquent testimony to fruits of fervent prayer.

James 5:16b “The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.”

The Redemptive Power behind each Prayer

We are a little more than five weeks from the beginning of our 125 Hours of Prayer. In anticipation, today’s post is from our public relations assistant about the connection between her own experience with prayer and now attending the school founded on prayer. 

By Elizabeth Parilli, public relations assistant 

I was 18 years-old and desperate, fiercely craving freedom from endless sin that chained me. I was desperate for eternal healing in my hurting heart, desperate for a life that recklessly followed Jesus Christ, the God I was just starting to get to know. This desperation led me to YWAM in Ensenada, Mexico where I attended a discipleship training school for four months.

In Mexico, Moody Bible Institute began to consume my mind. I borrowed my roommate’s laptop and would sneak away to a café downtown, spending a couple afternoons writing my essays while fervently praying that God would allow Moody to accept me. Six months later, my prayer was answered.

My desire as an 18 year-old to pursue a life of living for Christ does not make sense through the eyes of our world. As I reflect back I can see the faces of the prayer warriors who interceded on my behalf throughout that dark season of my life: believers at my public school and church members who saw me slip in and out of the door, various family members and friends, my YWAM leaders and Godly strangers. The Lord continually used the body of Christ to fervently fight for me, and I overflow with gratitude for their hearts and God’s faithfulness.

Confidently speaking, the simple act of prayer from so many believers is what helped pull me out of the pit, remove the veil from my eyes, soften my heart and set me free so that I might attend Moody.

As a student I learned that our school was founded on prayer as much as my life has been transformed by it. In 1857, D.L. Moody began faithfully praying for our school, along with his mentors, and as the years went on more and more faithful warriors joined alongside in interceding for the Institution. Prayer meetings, sessions and conferences were held to surrender the school to God, to ask for provision, to meditate on His will and to intercede for the plan. 125 years later, Moody, grounded in Christ and rooted from prayer, continues to be tuition-paid, ministry oriented and saturated in the word of God. 

The prayers of Moody’s supporters, alumni and students, faculty and employees have flipped my world around to glorify God and expand His kingdom. Will you join me in praying for future students and future ministry leaders, that their lights will rise up for His glory and many will experience redemption and grace through Christ’s power. Let’s pray for blessings for the faculty that serve daily and surrender their lives to see God’s will be done. Let’s pray for unity in the body, for the Spirit to be active in our lives, and for a revival inside the hearts of those connected to Moody. Let’s pray especially that this place will be the launching ground of bold leaders in the faith to go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ to all the nations.

I am so grateful to be a part of this legacy and excited to know there will be many of us praying during those 125 Hours.

The Persuasive Power of Prevailing Prayer

Continuing with our prayer theme leading up to the 125 Hours of Prayer, today we hear from Moody's president about the powerful prayers that brought him to Chicago. 

By Paul Nyquist, Moody Bible Institute president

I am at Moody Bible Institute today because of prayer. Not my prayers, although I can assure you I hit my knees often in the process. I am at Moody today because of the army of prayer warriors who faithfully interceded during the search process two years ago.

Having two sons as students at Moody during that time, I had a unique perspective on the proceedings. I heard often from them of the expansive prayer effort that was active on campus.  Regularly it was a vital element of the student chapels. People from all segments of Moody were involved. Folks from the Facilities Department, Food Service, faculty members, Treasury Operations, Public Safety, and the administration were all knit together in fervently asking for God’s kind leadership to lead them to the new president of Moody. I heard of teams of students who would go the president’s vacant office, and kneel in prayer for the person that God would bring to operate out of that office and lead the school. Prayer requests were posted on the search website, so that those outside the immediate Moody community could access them and join in the effort.  It was persistent, it was pervasive and it was persuasive. Often, as I visited the website during the search process, I would see again the comprehensive nature of the prayer effort. I had led churches before and I had been the president of an international mission agency. But I had never witnessed such a carefully organized, passionate, intelligent prayer ministry as I saw with the Moody search process.

God moves when His people pray. I know the theology of that statement. I lived it out as the Moody community prayed for a new president. The steps in the search were deliberate, careful and comprehensive, as would be demanded for such a critical position. As Cheryl and I navigated the process, we sometimes had doubts whether we wanted to continue exploring the position or if I was the right person to lead the school. But everyone kept praying. And praying. And praying.

In the end, that is what convinced me to humbly accept the offer when it was accepted. I did not do so because I was sure I had the skills and experience to lead such an incredible place like Moody. Far from it. I did so because I was convinced God had led the process through the prayers of His people. As we pray now for the future of the school, we do so with the same confidence and trust. As He has led us in the past, in response to our prayers, so He will lead us in the future.

125 Hours of Prayer: Building on Our Legacy

By Lindsey Zarob, director, Public Relations

If you are familiar with Moody Bible Institute you may also be familiar with the name Emma Dryer. She was an intelligent and prayerful woman and when D.L. Moody met her, he knew she was someone that could contribute significantly to his work in Chicago. He brought her on board but I wonder if he really understood what that decision meant for his future. 

More than 125 years ago Emma gathered a group of people for weekly prayer meetings. Together they sought God to move Moody’s heart so that he might come back to Chicago and begin a training school.  Many believe that it was through those relentless prayers, humbly submitted to God, that Moody finally accepted that he was the one to lead the building of a training school in Chicago. This is the legacy on which Moody Bible Institute was founded, and it is this legacy we hope to continue. 

In this modern age of tweets, status updates and blog posts, the 125^th Anniversary planning team has decided to take advantage of these new media tools to help promote  and maintain 125 hours of straight prayer. In a sense we are hoping to engage in a global multi-media, multi-day prayer meeting. You can read more about how to sign-up and join with us here and you can read some more of the background here. 

For the next seven weeks each post on this blog will focus on prayer. You will read entries from our leadership and various employees; faculty will write about D.L. Moody’s prayer life and the history of prayer in the church; you will also read entries from students and even an editor or two from Moody Publishers. We hope you will join us for the 125 Hours of Prayer as well as engage with us in this space, on Facebook and Twitter.