John FLAVEL: Man of God and Man of Prayer
[Above: John Flavel, c. 1691—National Library of Wales / Wikimedia public domain]
JOHN FLAVEL was a man of prayer. On at least two occasions, his public prayers resulted in divine intervention with immediate and consequential results.
Born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England around 1630, he lived through the turbulent period of the English Civil War. The son of a nonconformist minister, he became a nonconformist minister himself. Nonconformists were Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England. He is numbered among the leading Puritans—those who called for the established church to be purified of any remaining Roman Catholic practices. He insisted true believers must be regenerated (born again) and show it by holy living, prompted and restrained by the Holy Spirit.
The years between the Restoration of the British monarchy in 1660 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 were difficult years for nonconformists. They were frequently harassed and persecuted.
From this day, 10 December 1656, until his death on 26 June 1691, Flavel ministered in and around Dartmouth. For love of its people, he rejected offers of better-paid positions. When nonconformists were evicted from their pulpits, Flavel was evicted too, and he preached in fields and woods. After Parliament passed an act requiring men such as himself to move at least five miles from their previous pastorates, he settled as close to Dartmouth as he could.
To escape one bout of persecution, Flavel fled to London, thinking to hide among its mass of people. Before sailing, he had a dream that he interpreted to mean the voyage would experience grave danger. Friends assured him he was mistaken—the weather was perfect. However, less than fifteen miles from Portsmouth, the ship was struck by savage winds. It appeared the boat must be driven onto a rocky coast. If Flavel and his company perished, the name of God would be blasphemed—enemies would say that although he had eluded them on land, yet divine vengeance had overtaken him at sea. Flavel called together all who could be spared from working the ship to unite with him in invoking God’s intervention. No sooner had their prayer ended than the wind veered to a favorable direction.
During one of the periods when Flavel was able to live in Dartmouth, his love for its people led him to another consequential prayer. Learning that the English fleet was in a sea battle with the French, he called his people together to fast and pray, asking especially for the protection of Dartmouth’s many naval men. Not one of those engaged in the sea battle died.
—Dan Graves
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For another account of John Flavel, focusing on his ministry, see https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/dailystory/permalink/people-walked-for-miles-to-hear-puritan-john-flavel-preach
Other Events on this Day
- Franck Expressed His Faith Through Masterful Compositions
- THE BISHOP OF PARIS CONDEMNED ERRORS DERIVED FROM ARISTOTLE