Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758)

Who Was He?

Jonathan Edwards was born on 5 October 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut, into a family steeped in Puritan piety. His father was a pastor, his mother the daughter of the famous preacher Solomon Stoddard. Edwards entered Yale College at the age of thirteen and graduated at seventeen. After further study, he became his grandfather’s assistant at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1727, and took sole charge of the congregation when Stoddard died in 1729.

Edwards was not merely a preacher — he was one of the greatest intellects in American history.

He read the philosophers Locke and Newton and brought their insights into conversation with Scripture, building a theology of remarkable depth and beauty. His favourite theme was the absolute majesty and sovereignty of God, and the total dependence of humanity on divine grace.

In 1734 – 35, a great revival broke out in Northampton under his ministry. More than 300 of the 1,100 inhabitants made professions of faith within six months. His report, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God, sent shockwaves through America and England, helping to prepare the ground for the Great Awakening of 1740 – 42 — arguably the most significant spiritual awakening in American history.

In 1750, Edwards was controversially dismissed by his own congregation and spent seven years as a missionary among Native Americans in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He was then invited to become President of Princeton College, but died of a smallpox inoculation just weeks after taking the post on 22 March 1758. He remains the greatest theologian America has ever produced, and his writings on revival, prayer, and the work of the Spirit are without equal.

A Great Answer to Prayer The revival of 1734 – 35 in Northampton was the direct answer to years of prayer by a small congregation that refused to give up on God. Edwards himself described the spiritual state of the town before the revival as deeply discouraging — young people addicted to night-walking, tavern-drinking, and immorality; community leaders locked in bitter disputes; and the church small and ineffective.

Two untimely deaths in the spring of 1734 shocked the town into reflection. Simultaneously, Edwards began preaching with focused power on justification by faith alone. In December 1734, six young people were converted, including a young woman known as one of the greatest social butterflies in the whole town. Her radical transformation became the talk of the community.

Within six months, over 300 of the 1,100 people in Northampton — more than one in four — had been converted. The revival spread to neighbouring towns along the Connecticut River Valley. Edwards recorded: “God has also seemed to go out of His usual way in the quickness of His work, and the swift progress His Spirit has made in His operation, on the hearts of many.”

This was the answer to years of believing, persevering prayer.

Key Scriptures Isaiah 44:3 — “I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour M y Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 — “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgiv e their sin and heal their land.”

Philippians 4:6 — “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

His Words on Prayer “The true spirit of prayer is no other than God' s own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints. And as this spirit comes from God, so doth it naturally tend to God in holy breathings and pantings. It naturally leads to God, to converse with Him by prayer.”

“When God has something very great to accom plish for His Church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people. When God is about to accomplish great things for His Church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication.”

“There i s no way that Christians, in a private capacity, can do so much to promote the work of God and advance the kingdom of Christ as by prayer.”

“He that lives a prayerless life, lives without God in the world.”

“Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is to life.”

Prayer and the Word of God “True religion disposes persons to be much alone in solitary places for holy meditation and prayer. It is the nature of true grace to delight in retirement and secret converse with God. A true Christian doubtless delights in religious fellowship, but he also delights at times to retire from all mankind, to converse with God in solitude.”

“It is God's will through His wonderful grace that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ's kingdom in the world.”

Prayer and the Holy Spirit “The true spirit of prayer is no other than God's own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints.”

“There is no spiritual awakening without the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“When God is about to do a mighty new thing, He always sets His people praying, and pours out the spirit of grace and supplication upon them as the first sign of what is coming.”