Leader’s guide · 12 weeks

Leader’s guide: Praying Hyde (For Children)

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This guide helps you lead twelve weekly sessions on “Praying Hyde (For Children),” the true story of John Hyde, a shy, partly deaf young American who went to the villages of the Punjab in India and spent so much of his life praying that people called him “the man who never sleeps.” It is written for children aged 6 to 12, and works just as well for a Sunday school class, a homeschool group or a family around the table.

Each session takes about thirty minutes. Welcome the children and say the memory verse together (3 minutes). Read the week’s chapter aloud (5–7 minutes). Talk together using the chapter’s three questions (5–10 minutes). Do the activity (10 minutes). Close by praying the chapter’s short prayer, or one of your own (2 minutes). Because this is a book about prayer, many of the activities are ways of praying, each one a little different, so children discover how many ways there are to talk with God.

To prepare, read the chapter yourself beforehand and have paper, pencils and crayons ready; from week 7 you will also keep one large sheet of paper as a class prayer chart. The book tells of the deaths of John’s brother and of John himself, and of a young man who struggled with drinking, so read those parts calmly and simply, never press anyone to share private sins or hurts aloud, and keep coming back to the book’s point that God hears every prayer. The Indian preachers, families and pastors in the story are John’s friends and fellow workers, so speak of them with respect and avoid accents, costumes or jokes about India.

Week 1 — A Father’s Prayer

John Nelson Hyde is born in Illinois in 1865 and grows up in Carthage, where his father, a Presbyterian minister, prays again and again that God will send workers into his harvest, and his mother, a fine singer, teaches him about Jesus. At college John decides to be a missionary, though, honestly, he also wants to be a famous one. The big idea: God hears every prayer, even small ones prayed over and over, and he listens to us too.

“Pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he will send out workers into his harvest.” — from Matthew 9

Memory verse

Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into his harvest.

Matthew 9:38

Talk together

  1. What prayer did John’s father pray again and again?

    He prayed the prayer Jesus taught, asking the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest, so that more people would hear about Jesus.

  2. What did young John want when he decided to be a missionary?

    He loved God, but he also wanted to be a famous missionary. He said, “I wanted to shine as a great missionary.”

  3. Who prays for you? Who could you pray for?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God hears every prayer, even small ones prayed over and over, and he is listening to you.

Activity

A Field Full of People

You will need: Paper and crayons

  1. Draw a big field of tall wheat across your page, with lots of stalks.
  2. Beside some of the stalks, draw or write people who need to hear about Jesus, such as a friend, a neighbour or people in another country.
  3. Draw one or two workers in the field, and add yourself as one of them if you like.
  4. Hold your pictures up and pray John’s father’s prayer together: “Lord of the harvest, please send workers into your harvest.”

Pray

Dear God, thank you for the people who pray for me. Please send workers to tell everyone about Jesus, and help me to be one of them. Amen.

Read chapter 1

Week 2 — “It Is Settled”

John’s brother Edmund, who had promised to be a missionary, catches a fever and dies in 1891, and John spends most of a year wondering whether God wants him to go instead. A friend refuses to argue and tells him to kneel before God until the question is settled; the next morning John says, shining, “It is settled,” and in 1892 he sails for the Punjab. Go gently with Edmund’s death and let children who have lost someone simply listen. The big idea: we can take our big questions to God, wait quietly, and trust him to show us the way.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” — from Isaiah 6

Memory verse

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me.

Isaiah 6:8

Talk together

  1. What happened to John’s brother Edmund?

    He caught a bad fever while doing Sunday school work in Montana, came home very ill, and died in August 1891.

  2. What did John’s friend tell him to do instead of arguing?

    To go to his own room, kneel before God, and stay there until the question was settled. The next morning John said, “It is settled.”

  3. Is there a question you would like to bring to God?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that we can take our big questions to God, wait, and trust him to show us the way.

Activity

Listening Silence

You will need: Nothing

  1. Sit in a circle and explain that praying is talking to God, and also being quiet with him, as John was on his knees that night.
  2. Close your eyes and, in your heart, tell God about one question or worry. Nobody needs to say it out loud.
  3. Stay completely still and silent for one minute, the leader keeping time, just being with God.
  4. Open your eyes and say together, quietly, “Here I am. Send me.”

Pray

Dear God, when I don’t know what to do, help me to come and talk to you. I want to say, like John, “Here I am. Send me.” Amen.

Read chapter 2

Week 3 — The Crumpled Letter

On board ship John finds a letter from an older Christian promising to keep praying until John is filled with the Holy Spirit; John crumples it in anger, then goes back, smooths it out and reads it again. After a few miserable days he asks God to fill him with the Spirit and admits he had wanted to be a missionary so people would admire him. The big idea: when someone who loves us says something hard, it is wise to listen, stop being proud and ask God for help.

“How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” — from Luke 11

Memory verse

I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.

Luke 11:9

Talk together

  1. What did the letter on the ship say?

    It said that John’s father’s friend would not stop praying for him until John was filled with the Holy Spirit.

  2. What did John do after he threw the letter away?

    He went back, found it, smoothed it out and read it again. After a few miserable days he asked God to fill him with the Holy Spirit and told God he was willing to work quietly out of sight.

  3. Has anyone ever told you something hard that turned out to be true?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that when someone who loves us says something hard, it is wise to listen and ask God whether they are right.

Activity

The Crumpled Letter

You will need: Paper and pencils or crayons

  1. Write at the top of a sheet of paper, “Please fill me with your Holy Spirit.”
  2. Scrunch the paper up into a ball, just as John did when he felt cross.
  3. Now carefully smooth it out flat again, and read the words slowly.
  4. Decorate the edges of your crinkly letter and take it home as a prayer you can pray again and again.

Pray

Dear God, when someone who loves me tells me something hard, help me to listen and not to be proud. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Read chapter 3

Week 4 — A Question in the Street

John arrives in the Punjab at the end of 1892, unable to speak Urdu or Punjabi yet, and at a street meeting a well-dressed man asks the missionary whether Jesus has really saved him from sin. The question goes straight into John’s heart, because there is one sin he keeps tripping over; he shuts his door and prays until God assures him he can set him free, and later says, “He did deliver me.” Keep any reflection on sin completely private: no one should be asked to name theirs. The big idea: we never need to hide our sins from God; he forgives us, makes our hearts clean and helps us.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.” — from Psalm 51

Memory verse

Create in me a clean heart, God. Renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Talk together

  1. What did the man in the street ask the missionary?

    He asked whether Jesus had really saved him from sin, the way he had been telling the crowd.

  2. What did John do when the question went into his heart?

    He went to his room, shut the door and prayed for a long time, until God assured him that he could set him free. John said, “He did deliver me.”

  3. Is there something you keep getting wrong that you could tell God about?

    Any honest answer is good here, and you don’t have to say it out loud. The chapter’s point is that we never need to hide our sins from God: he forgives us and helps us.

Activity

Rubbed Out

You will need: Paper and pencils with erasers

  1. Draw a big heart on your paper with your pencil.
  2. Inside it, very small and private, write or draw one thing you keep getting wrong. No one else will look.
  3. Quietly tell God you are sorry and ask him to help you.
  4. Rub it out with your eraser until the heart is clean, and write “Clean!” across it.

Pray

Dear God, you know the things I keep getting wrong. Please forgive me, make my heart clean, and help me to do what is right. Amen.

Read chapter 4

Week 5 — Slow of Speech

John is shy, quiet and a little deaf, slow to answer but with kind blue eyes; when leaders scold him for studying the Bible instead of only the language, he says, “First things first.” His first ten years are slow, some missionaries think him odd, yet he is not bitter, and in time God loosens his tongue so he can preach in Urdu, Punjabi and English. Be careful that no child’s difficulties become a joke. The big idea: God made each of us, knows what we find hard and can use us just as we are.

“I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” — from Exodus 4

Memory verse

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.

Exodus 4:12

Talk together

  1. Why did the mission leaders scold John?

    Because he spent so many hours studying the Bible instead of only learning the language. He answered, “First things first.”

  2. What did John say when he knew some missionaries did not approve of him?

    He smiled and said they did not understand him, and that they never meant to be unkind. He was not bitter.

  3. What is something you find hard? How might God help you with it?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God made you, knows what you find hard, and can use you just as you are.

Activity

Patient Listeners

You will need: Nothing

  1. Get into pairs and decide who will speak first.
  2. The speaker slowly tells their partner about something they love doing.
  3. The listener looks kindly at the speaker, waits without interrupting or hurrying them, and then says back what they heard.
  4. Swap over, then talk together about how we can be patient and kind with people who find speaking or hearing hard.

Pray

Dear God, thank you that you made me. When I feel shy or slow, help me to remember that you are with me and that you can use me. Amen.

Read chapter 5

Week 6 — The Man Who Never Sleeps

John works among the poorest village people, whom others would not even touch, and he loves them, greeting them with a hug and living, eating and sleeping alongside the Indian preachers. After staying up all night to prepare a talk, he decides to spend a night getting himself ready by praying, and rises early and wakes in the night to pray so often that the people call him “the man who never sleeps.” If children ask why people were looked down on, simply say it was unfair, and that Jesus loves everyone the same. The big idea: like John, we can begin each day with God and ask him to get us ready to love everyone we meet.

“In the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out into a solitary place, and there prayed.” — from Mark 1

Memory verse

Early in the night, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.

Mark 1:35

Talk together

  1. How did John treat the poor people in the villages?

    He loved them. He greeted them with a hug, and he lived, ate and slept with the Indian preachers he worked with.

  2. Why did the people call John “the man who never sleeps”?

    Because he spent so much of the night praying and reading his Bible. He did sleep, but not very much.

  3. What could you say to God at the start of your day?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that, like John, we can begin each day with God and ask him to get us ready.

Activity

Good Morning, God

You will need: Paper and crayons

  1. Fold a sheet of paper in half so it stands up like a little card.
  2. On the front, draw a sunrise and write “Good morning, God!”
  3. Inside, write or draw one person you will meet tomorrow, and the words “Please get me ready for today.”
  4. Take it home and stand it by your bed, so it is the first thing you see in the morning.

Pray

Dear God, good morning! Please get me ready for today, and help me to love everyone I meet, just as you love them. Amen.

Read chapter 6

Week 7 — “He Has Given Me No Message”

In 1904 John and his friends form the Punjab Prayer Union, promising to pray every day soon after noon “till the awakening comes,” and Christians begin gathering each year at Sialkot. In 1905 John asks the pastors, “Is the Holy Spirit first?”, and the next morning a speaker, probably John, says God has given him no message, the Holy Spirit is named leader, and people confess their wrongs, sing for joy and fill the prayer room day and night. The big idea: keep on praying and let God lead, even when the answer takes a long time.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.” — from Zechariah 4

Memory verse

He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up.

Luke 18:1

Talk together

  1. What promise did the Punjab Prayer Union make?

    To pray for half an hour every day, soon after noon, and to keep on praying until God woke up the churches.

  2. What did the speaker say on the second morning at Sialkot in 1905?

    He said, “I thank God, He has given me no message for you to-day,” and the leader said the Holy Spirit was leader of the meeting.

  3. How can you let God be first in your day?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that the most important thing is to let God lead, and we can ask him what he wants us to do.

Activity

Our Keep-On-Praying Chart

You will need: One large sheet of paper and crayons

  1. Draw a chart on the big sheet with six columns, one for each week from now until the end of the book.
  2. Together choose a few things to pray for as a group, such as your church, a missionary, or children who don’t know Jesus, and write one on each row.
  3. Pray for each thing together, and let a child colour in this week’s box for every row.
  4. Put the chart away safely, and bring it out at the end of every session to pray and colour again, watching for answers.

Pray

Dear God, please be first in my life. Help me to listen to you and to follow where you lead. Amen.

Read chapter 7

Week 8 — The Prayer Room

John meets a tired, worried missionary named Pengwern Jones, takes him to the prayer room at eight in the morning, prays with him until half past three, and then tells him, “Go in and speak, that is your work. I shall go back to the Prayer Room to pray for you, that is my work.” At Sialkot John prays “Wide, Lord. Wide,” claps and even dances for joy when people find peace with God, and asks his Father even whether to go to lunch. The big idea: praying for other people is real work for God, and anyone can do it.

“Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” — from Psalm 81

Memory verse

I am the LORD, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10

Talk together

  1. What did John say to Mr. Jones at the door of the meeting hall?

    “Go in and speak, that is your work. I shall go back to the Prayer Room to pray for you, that is my work.”

  2. What did John sometimes do when someone found peace with God?

    He was so full of joy that he clapped his hands and even danced, and others joined him in praising God.

  3. Who is someone you could pray for this week?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that praying for other people is real work for God, and anyone can do it.

Activity

A Prayer Walk Round the Room

You will need: Four sheets of paper and crayons (the leader prepares them)

  1. Before the session, write one word on each sheet, “Teachers,” “Church,” “Friends” and “Family,” and put them in the four corners of the room.
  2. Walk quietly together to the first corner and let anyone who wants to pray one short sentence for those people.
  3. Move to each corner in turn, praying at every one.
  4. Finish in the middle of the room by praying John’s prayer together: “Wide, Lord. Wide.”

Pray

Dear God, thank you that I can help other people by praying for them. Please bless everyone who teaches me about you. Amen.

Read chapter 8

Week 9 — “What About That One?”

In 1908 John prays, “Father, give me these souls or I die!” and asks God for one person a day to believe in Jesus; the mission’s records show hundreds were baptized in his district, work John called the work of “us,” himself and his Indian helpers together. One day, after praying for ten people, John and two preachers find a welcoming family of nine, and John will not leave until the tenth, the father’s nephew, comes in from playing. The big idea: every single person matters to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and that includes you.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” — from Luke 19

Memory verse

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10

Talk together

  1. How many people did John and his helpers pray for that day?

    Ten. By the evening a family of nine had been baptized, and John would not leave until the tenth was found.

  2. Who was the tenth person?

    The father’s nephew, a boy who lived with the family and had been out playing. He believed in Jesus and was baptized too.

  3. Why do you think John cared so much about one more person?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that every single person matters to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and that includes you.

Activity

My Prayer List of Ten

You will need: Paper and pencils

  1. Write the numbers 1 to 10 down the side of your paper.
  2. Beside as many numbers as you can, write the first name of someone you would like to know Jesus. It is fine not to fill all ten.
  3. Read your list quietly to God, praying for each person one by one.
  4. Fold the list, take it home, and keep praying for the people on it, just as John kept asking, “What about that one?”

Pray

Dear Jesus, thank you that you came looking for me. Please help my friends who don’t know you to come to you too. Amen.

Read chapter 9

Week 10 — Show Me What Is Lovely

John kneels to pray for an Indian pastor who has grown cold, but starts complaining about him instead, until he feels as if a finger is laid on his lips and hears that the pastor is “the apple of mine eye.” He asks forgiveness, prays, “Father, show me what things are lovely and of good report in my brother’s life,” and spends his prayer time thanking God for the pastor, who soon after is preaching again “with fire.” The big idea: instead of grumbling about people, we can ask God to show us what is good in them and thank him for it.

“Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things.” — from Philippians 4

Memory verse

I thank my God whenever I remember you.

Philippians 1:3

Talk together

  1. What stopped John in the middle of his prayer?

    He felt as if a finger was laid on his lips, and he heard God say that the pastor was as precious to him as the apple of his eye.

  2. What new prayer did John pray?

    “Father, show me what things are lovely and of good report in my brother’s life.” Then he spent his prayer time thanking God for the pastor.

  3. Can you think of something good about someone who sometimes annoys you?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God loves that person too, and we can thank him for the good he has put in them.

Activity

Lovely Things Round the Circle

You will need: Paper and pencils

  1. Each child writes their own name at the top of a sheet of paper.
  2. Pass the papers round the circle, and on each one write one kind, true, lovely thing about that person. The leader checks that every comment is kind.
  3. When your own paper comes back, read it quietly.
  4. Go round the circle and thank God for the person on your right by name: “Thank you, God, for…”

Pray

Dear God, help me not to grumble about other people. Show me the good things in them, and help me to thank you for them. Amen.

Read chapter 10

Week 11 — Tears at a Train Window

A young man called J. N., from a high-caste Hindu family, believes in Jesus, then turns away and falls into drinking too much; John welcomes him like the father in the story of the lost son, even when J. N. steals and sells his clothes. When J. N. leaves on a train, John weeps at the window; the next day J. N. comes back saying, “I could not forget his tears,” and finds John praying for exactly that. Describe the drinking and stealing simply, without detail, and be honest that his story did not have a neat ending. The big idea: Jesus never stops loving us when we get things wrong again and again, and he helps us love others that way.

“When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” — from Luke 15

Memory verse

We love Him, because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

Talk together

  1. What did J. N. do to John’s clothes?

    More than once he stole them and sold them. John did not get angry; he just smiled and kept loving him.

  2. Why did J. N. come back the day after he left on the train?

    He said, “I could not forget his tears.” He had seen how much John loved him.

  3. Is there someone who is hard to love that you could pray for?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that Jesus never stops loving us, and he can help us love others the same way.

Activity

The Father Who Ran

You will need: Nothing

  1. Tell, in your own words, Jesus’ story of the son who left home and the father who ran to welcome him back.
  2. Choose one child to be the son and one to be the father, while everyone else is the watching village.
  3. Mime the story without words: the son walking away, sitting sadly far off, and slowly turning for home.
  4. Mime the father spotting him, running to meet him and giving him a big hug, while the village cheers.
  5. Sit down and talk about how John loved J. N. like that father, and how Jesus loves us.

Pray

Dear Jesus, thank you that you never stop loving me, even when I get things wrong. Help me to love people who are hard to love. Amen.

Read chapter 11

Week 12 — Victory, Victory, Victory

Worn out, John leaves India very ill in 1911; in Wales he tells a deaf old lady to praise God and use church to pray for the preacher and for each person she can see, and she later says it changed her life. He dies in America on 17 February 1912, aged forty-six, telling his sister, “It’s just victory, victory, victory,” and his last words, in Punjabi, mean “Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!” Talk about John’s death calmly and hopefully, and be ready for some children to think of someone they have lost. The big idea: John wanted people to look at Jesus and pray, and Jesus has won the victory for everyone who trusts him.

“Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — from 1 Corinthians 15

Memory verse

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Talk together

  1. What did John tell the deaf old lady in Wales to do in church?

    To praise God, and to use the time to pray: first for the preacher, and then for each person she could see.

  2. What were John’s last words, and what do they mean?

    They were in Punjabi: “Bol, Yisu Masih, ki jai!” It means, “Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!”

  3. What would you like to ask God to teach you about prayer?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that John wanted people to look at Jesus and pray, and that Jesus has won the victory for everyone who trusts him.

Activity

Look and Pray, Then Shout

You will need: Nothing (and the class prayer chart from week 7)

  1. Sit in a circle with your eyes open, just like the deaf lady in church.
  2. Look at each person round the circle, one at a time, and silently pray a short blessing for them.
  3. Bring out the prayer chart, colour in the last boxes, and thank God for any answers you have seen.
  4. Stand up together and shout John’s last words in English: “Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!”

Pray

Dear Jesus, thank you that you have won the victory. Teach me to pray, and help me to trust you all my life. Amen.

Read chapter 12