Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada with another story about a hymn writer.
Thanks for joining me for Joni and Friends, and the last time we met, I shared how so many composers of wonderful old hymns of the faith … Many of these composers were disabled: Fanny Crosby, blind; William Cowper with his mental illness; Charlotte Elliott, who was bed ridden.
But today, let me tell you about Major Daniel Whittle. He became a Major in the Civil War and was a valiant fighter. However, when he fell and lost his right arm in battle, he ended up in a prisoner-of-war camp. Recovering from his wounds in the hospital, he looked for something to read and found a New Testament. He was not a believer, but he was fascinated with the Gospels and every night in this prisoner of war camp, Major Whittle could be found reading this borrowed copy of the New Testament, all under the watchful eye of the guard in his barracks.
Though the words in the Gospels resonated with him, Maj. Whittle was still not ready to accept Christ; he was resistant. He wasn’t happy about having lost his arm. One night, the guard came to his bedside though with a hospital orderly. They woke Major Whittle up and told him that a dying prisoner wanted someone to pray with him. The major shook his head no, I’m not the one, but the guard and the orderly would not hear of it. They said, “We thought you were a Christian. We’ve seen you reading your Bible every night.” Whittle thought about the dying prisoner and felt deeply ashamed. Then, out of nowhere, he agreed to go. So into the hospital room, walks Maj. Whittle, without a clue as to what to do or what to say to this dying young man. And this is what he recorded in his journal about what took place at that youth’s bedside, He wrote:
I dropped on my knees and held the boy’s hand in mine. In a few broken words I confessed my sins and asked Christ to forgive me. I believed right there that He did forgive me. I then prayed earnestly for the boy. He became quiet and pressed my hand as I prayed and pleaded God’s promises [the promises I remembered from reading in the Gospels every night.]. When I arose from my knees, the boy took his last breath and died. A look of peace had come over his troubled face, and I cannot but believe that God who used him to bring me to the Savior, used me to lead him to trust Christ’s precious blood and find pardon. And I hope to meet that young man in heaven.
After the war, Whittle became treasurer of the Elgin Watch Company in Chicago, Illinois, but less than 10 years later, he left his lucrative job and went into full-time evangelism. During this period, he worked with various musicians, which in turn, prompted him to write his own collection of hymns, not the least of which was "There Shall Be Showers of Blessings." Maj. Whittle never forgot that young man by whose bedside he prayed—not only for the boy's life, but prayed for his own life. God brought him to kneel at the bed of the dying young man, so that before it was too late, both of them would die to self, and live to Christ.
Friend, maybe you see yourself in this story: you read the Bible; maybe you read it every night. And, perhaps, there are many—like that guard in the prisoner of war camp—there are many around you who assume that you are a Christian, but in your heart, you know you're far from it. I encourage you to kneel in your heart right now, would you? Put to death your old way of living (all the sin and all the pride), and invite Jesus Christ to sit on the throne of your heart. For you too, then, there will be showers of blessings!
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