Daniel Nash-Prayer Minister for Charles Finney

Prayer That Brings Heaven to Earth Part II

Written by: Daniel Kolenda
Friday, January 06, 2012
http://us.cfan.org/bible-study.aspx?id=10865
From D. Kolenda's book: Your Kingdom Come
Let this be our vision as prayer warriors. Read this story and be ultimately changed.
"The Divine Alliance

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

 

 

This Bible Study has been taken from Chapter VI of Daniel Kolenda’s new book “Your Kingdom Come” and is for those who desire to enter into a divine partnership with God and His purposes by joining the prayer revolution.

 

Charles Finney (1792-1875) is considered by many people to have been one of the greatest revivalists in American history. When Finney preached in a city, the entire region was powerfully impacted by the holy presence of God, which seemed to descend like a cloud. The tangible presence of God would be felt for miles around and multitudes of people would come to Jesus as if being drawn by a mysterious, magnetic force. Churches would be overwhelmed with new converts. Crime rates would plummet, and jails would empty because of the numbers of people who had come to Jesus. The moral nature of cities and regions would be impacted for decades to come because of the supernatural work that was done by the Holy Spirit through this man of God. Interestingly, approximately 80 percent of those people who came to Jesus in Finney’s meetings were still actively serving the Lord twenty-five years after their initial salvation experience16 – an extraordinary statistic.

 

The amazing revivals that followed the ministry of Charles Finney were much more than just the result of the eloquent preaching of this evangelist. There was an atmosphere that followed Charles Finney that reflected the holiness of God. When people encountered that atmosphere, their testimony was much the same as the prophet Isaiah who, encountering the holiness of God, cried out in despair, “Woe is me! for I am undone…” (Isaiah 6:5). People were stricken by the horrors of their sins and the deep offense that sin caused in the heart of God. A reverential fear of the Lord was experienced by many that caused them to turn to the Lord with true, heartfelt repentance, and they were never the same again.

 

Much has been written about the amazing ministry of Charles Finney, but very little is known about another man named Daniel Nash who was an associate of Finney. Very few people even knew that he existed. He was very quiet by nature and rarely, if ever, attended any of the revival meetings where Finney preached. Though he had been a pastor early in his life, he had been wounded by some church leaders who had fired him from his church thinking he was too old. He was forty-six at the time. This breaking of Nash’s heart was only a part of the preparation for a much greater work that God had prepared for him to do. Nash’s ministry was a ministry of prayer and intercession. Because of his hurt, he withdrew from public ministry but became a man of mighty prevailing prayer!

 

God brought Daniel Nash and Charles Finney together to form a team that was to be used by God in a most phenomenal way. Nash would precede Charles Finney’s arrival in a city for revival meetings. He would go to the city and check into a boarding house and begin praying for the meetings that were coming. Sometimes he wouldn’t come out of his room for days at a time as he devoted himself totally to intercession. Sometimes people reported hearing weeping and groaning coming from this man’s room as he prayed for the Holy Spirit’s power to be released and a mighty harvest to be reaped when Charles Finney came to preach.

 

Daniel Nash would pray for days before he felt that the work had been done in the spirit for the meetings to convene. Other times he would pray for three to four weeks in advance of Finney’s arrival, but he would not quit until he felt in his spirit that the preparation through intercession was complete. Nash prayed until he felt that the spiritual atmosphere had been prepared, and once he felt a release, he would send word to Charles Finney that the town was ready for him to come. Finney would follow, preach the Gospel, and the tidal floods of God’s holy, convicting, and saving glory would overwhelm the town and people would come to Jesus to be saved as a result.

 

The greatest moves of God in American history occurred during this season of time. Entire regions were changed as a result of Finney’s ministry. Historians point to those meetings as having such a profound impact upon people and societies that the effects could still be seen a century or more later! The powerful preaching of Charles Finney that saw hundreds of thousands of people saved would have never had the impact it did had it not been for the spiritual partnership with the intercessory ministry of Daniel Nash. It is interesting to note that only four months after Daniel Nash’s death, Charles Finney left the itinerate revival ministry to pastor a church. The powerful revivals that characterized his ministry and changed a nation began to wane.

 

Daniel Nash is buried in a simple grave in an obscure cemetery behind a farmer’s barn in upstate New York. It was lost in history for many decades. On his small, well-worn tombstone are these words: “Daniel Nash – Prayer minister for Charles Finney.” Though he was virtually unknown to the masses, God used Nash in a most profound way to birth the revivals of Charles Finney which touched multitudes. Surely, Daniel Nash enjoys the same fruit of reward as Charles Finney in Heaven today because of the role he played in intercession and prayer! I believe that there are many Daniel Nash’s in the earth today. They are known only to God (and maybe a few family members or friends). They may never write a book. They may never have a television program. They may never have a large public ministry that draws money, popularity, and acclaim of the masses, but their unseen labors in the spirit through intercessory prayer are resulting in the work of God moving forward in the earth. They may be strangers while here, but one day they will be champions in Heaven.

The next great move of God will come as a result of Prayer & Obedience by the body of Christ. Discover how God made us partners with Him for the fulfillment of His purposes in the earth."