Filey, a small fishing port on the east coast of Great Britain.
Rev. Harvey Leigh,
Author of “Praying Johnny”
Introduction
A mere 16 years after the death of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, that denomination experienced a significant division.
A group of zealous Methodist pastors, practicing the ministry style of John Wesley with camp-meetings and open-air services, were eventually expelled following the 1807 Mow Cop Revival.
This led the expelled group to reorganize into the Primitive Methodist Connexion, and from there they continued their work.
Extraordinary Prayer of “Praying Johnny”
The First Principle of Revival is that revivals always begin with one spark, that is, there is always one person who is the initiator, or the individual who ignites the fire. For the 1823 Filey Revival, that person happened to be John Oxtoby.
The Third Principle of Revival is that there will always be extraordinary prayer prior to the revival’s commencement, and again, Oxtoby modeled extraordinary prayer.
Upon his conversion Oxtoby associated with the Wesleyan Methodists, at times traveling with prominent ministers to serve as one who prays with those who expressed interest to place their faith in Jesus Christ (mourners).
Because of the power associated with his prayers, as well as the 6 hours he would spend in prayer daily, and at times devoting whole days and nights in prayer, he soon received the title of “Praying Johnny.” He began his ministry simply visiting people from house to house. At first he would receive opposition, yet in time it was recognized that “divine power accompanied his supplications.”
People then expected blessings to come as soon as he began to pray.
Wherever he went obstacles fell before him, and difficulties vanished; sinners were saved, and believers were built up…
His Praying was Unorthodox
At the close of the services that he was eventually preaching in, John Oxtoby would remain on the platform and would begin to intercede for the salvation of souls. One person gave this account of his praying:
He remained in the pulpit, not exactly kneeling, but almost lying down on his face groaning and moaning aloud.
Another account said that while praying,
He seemed to become oblivious of his surroundings, for he lay his whole length on the bedroom floor and moaned and groaned and writhed about…
Simple, Uncouth, Low Education
John Oxtoby was born again in 1804, at 37 years of age. Having been raised on a small farm, he brought with him into his ministry the habits and customs of rural life.
Oxtoby’s humble life earned him quite a reputation, yet it did not stop the power of God from being manifested through his prayers and ministry. These are some of the things said about him, though not intending to be unkind but merely descriptive:
Limited mental power and culture
His manners were uncouth, speech rough and ungrammatical
Unlearned and simple
Simple disconnected sermons with no persuasive powers of eloquence
No force of syllogistic reasoning or argument
No stores of theological or general knowledge
The compliments given to John Oxtoby:
He had holy anointing from heaven and clear spiritual discernment.
He was spiritually wise
Divinely learned
Sound judgement with respect to the way to God’s throne
Knew how to prevail for the promised blessing on his efforts
In 1819, at 52 years of age, he was seeing a large number of people being converted. His reputation of having uncouth language and manners brought him criticism from the educated ministers of his day. The criticism of his success was that he was using “wild fire” and not God’s power to draw people to Jesus.
In 1819 Oxtoby left the Weslyans and joined the “Primitive Methodist Connexion” because they had “much more faith,” and their preaching had greater demonstrations of power, as hundreds were converted wherever they went.
Filey Chapel
Condition Prior to the Revival at Filey
The fishing village had almost been given up on due to the rampant immorality that was prevalent there. The sins having been recorded were vice and wickedness of almost every description.
- Drunkenness
- Sabbath-breaking
- Swearing
- Cock-fighting
- Card-playing, and similar evils.
What Happened
In 1823 “Praying Johnny” received an appointment as an Itinerant Minister with the Primitive Methodists. Prior to that he had been working with other ministers as an associate, mostly praying with new converts.
In March of 1823, at a meeting of the Primitive Methodist Society in Bridlington, there was an almost unanimous consensus that the fishing village of Filey was hopeless, and they were contemplating withdrawing their work from that village, as preacher after preacher had been sent there, with none of them having had any success.
Oxtoby, having been present at that quarterly meeting, was asked for his opinion on Filey, and he said:
I think the Lord has a great work to do at Filey, and if you will send me, I will go, and live upon potatoes and salt, and lie on a board if necessary, before it shall be given up.
Those at the meeting agreed to give Oxtoby a chance, and a few days later he was sent there. When he was walking to his destination he was questioned as to where he was headed, and his reply was:
To Filey, where the Lord is gannin [going] to revive His work.
When Oxtoby arrived within sight of the village, he knelt down to pray by a hedge and began pleading with God for several hours for the success of his work.
A miller who was walking along the road overheard his prayer:
Thou munna [must not] mak [make] a feal [fool] o’ me. I told them at Bridlington Thou was gannin [going] to revive Thy work, and Thou mun [must] dea [do] so or I shall never be able to show my face among them again, and then what will the people say about praying and believing?
Eventually Oxtoby sensed he received the assurance that his prayers had been answered, and he stood and said:
It is done, Lord! It is done! Filey is taken! Filey is taken!
And within a few weeks over 40 were converted and a great revival began. It turned the village upside down, with the fishermen of Filey becoming staunch Primitive Methodists. The congregation’s reputation spread through the region due to the dramatic transformation that had come over the village.
- The morals of the village rapidly improved
- Bars (ale-bench) being deserted
- Not fishing on Sundays
- One in ten catches was sold to finance the chapel (tithe)
- Marital relationships greatly improved
- By the end of that year a chapel was built
Typical fishing boats used during that era. This picture was from Whitby, about 20 miles north of Filey.
Revival Fires Spread
By 1829 most had heard of John Oxtoby’s fame, and as a result, people flocked to hear him for themselves. His renown caused the revival fires to spread to even more places.
Some of the locations where John Oxtoby preached, carrying revival fires with him throughout the region.
Demons Cast Out
It is remarkable that the account of John Oxtoby casting demons out of a person has survived. Most denominations have expunged all accounts of such occurrences. It is as if they are embarrassed to confess their faith in the biblical accounts of Jesus delivering people from demons, and it makes one assume they are also embarrassed to confess such a thing can happen in this modern day.
We have found only a few accounts of demons being cast out of people during revivals, and they are:
We are positive there are many more revivals wherein demons were driven out of people, but due to the secularization of the Church, those records have not been preserved.
To point out the Church’s slide into secularism (even among conservative churches), we have made the video: “Silence in the Church.”
Freedom from Demonization
This is the exact account of John Oxtoby, taken from his diary, and was subsequently recorded in “Praying Johnny” by Harvey Leigh. The diary date was November 11-12,1824.
11th. – Went to Edmundbyers to pray with a woman possessed of an evil spirit, and met with brother Summersides; we prayed with her awhile, but we were obliged to give up because so many people came in. So I stood up and preached. The Lord pardoned one woman.
12th. – Went to pray with the woman again at eight o’clock. When we got there she was cursing, swearing, dancing, &c. We kneeled down and prayed with her, until near half past twelve. I told her to praise the Lord. She said ‘Curse the Lord!’ I then said, ‘It (the work) shall be done.’ But she said ‘It shall not be done!’ It came to brother Summersides’ mind that we should set the Lord a time to deliver her. I asked him what time. He said ‘one o’clock.’ I said, ‘so be it.’ And at the last moment God turned the storm into a calm and delivered her.”
Results of the Revival(s)
► When preaching in homes they were often so full of people that all of them could not get in.
► “Two men came to scoff; the Lord laid hold of one and brought him down; every bone in him shook. The other went away wounded.”
► While ministering in Nenthead: “Two men came from 20 miles away… One of them caught the holy fire and carried it to Middleton; and now it is spreading there.”
► At the Wearhead Chapel: “about thirty fell to the ground filled with the love of God. These are glorious meetings; we could not tell how many were justified and sanctified.”
► “We have lately added about 100 souls to the church.”
► “Fifty souls, in about three days, was no mean in-gathering.”
► Thousands were saved, and the churches were greatly edified and strengthened.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Other Manifestations
The Word of Knowledge:
► At times Oxtoby would inform people of how many people were going to be saved the following night, and it happened as he said.
Gifts of Healings
► Multiple accounts of healings took place, silencing his opponents with “perfect amazement.”
The Holy Spirit Brought Severe Conviction of Sin
► “Some stood trembling like an aspen leaf.”
► “The sanctifying influence was felt.”
► Numbers often fell under his preaching and prayers, crying out for mercy.
► Some would run out of meetings to escape the Holy Spirit’s conviction power, but some fell to their knees on the road before reaching home, crying out for mercy. Others later were known to send someone to have him come visit them, or pray for them.
Presence of Jesus and Angelic Visitation
During his last days, in his sister’s home in Londesborough, Oxtoby told of these incidents:
On another occasion, he declared that Jesus Christ was present and precious,–wonderfully precious to his soul; that he felt in his experience the abiding truth of that promise, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” He conversed of death and eternity, and of heaven and its felicities, with such charming sweetness that it was truly profitable to be in his company, and seemed one of the most desirable situations on earth to linger by the side of his bed.
“O what I have beheld! such a sight as I cannot possibly describe. There were three shining forms stood beside me, whose garments were so bright, and whose countenances were so glorious, that I never saw anything to compare with them before. O how sweetly they smiled upon me! And when they departed, they beckoned me to come away.”
SACRED
TO THE
MEMORY OF
JOHN OXTOBY,
Primitive Methodist Preacher,
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE,
JANUARY 19, 1830,
AGED 63 YEARS.
~~~
“The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.”
~~~
‘Tis not on marble, nor on the gilded page
To print thy worth! thy charity display—
For chronicles like these may in an age
Be lost—and in oblivion pass away.
Eternity itself will best unfold,
The souls led by thee to the heavenly fold.
Sources
► A History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion by John Petty
► History of the Primitive Methodist Church by H. B. Kendall
► John Oxtoby by Wikipedia
► “Praying Johnny” or the Life and Labours of John Oxtoby by Harvey Leigh
► Primitive Methodist Magazine: Primitive Methodist Magazine 1826/24; 1828/398; 1830/190; 1831/9ff
► The Primitive Methodist Connexion by Julia Stewart Werner
► Reminiscences of John Oxtoby by John Mitchell
► The Revival We Need by Oswald J. Smith
► The Romance of Primitive Methodism by Joseph Ritson
► Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer by S. B. Shaw
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Beautiful Feet
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