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The ‘Finished Work of
Christ’
and
the Conversion of Hudson Taylor
Taken from Seven Guides to Effective Prayer
by Colin C.
Whittaker, Bethany House, 1988
Those
mid-teen years were difficult for Hudson and his family. His changed attitude upset the household and the only person he felt able to talk
to was his young thirteen-year-old sister Amelia. His unhappiness so affected her that she
determined to pray for him three times every day until he was truly converted. She did not
have long to wait.
Two or three weeks after Hudson's seventeenth birthday, his mother went to stay for two
weeks with friends some seventy miles away. She too had been praying much for her son, and
one afternoon after lunch, finding herself free, she went to her room, locked the door and
got down on her knees to pray for Hudson's complete conversion, determined not to cease
praying until she received an assurance that her request was granted. The hours passed and
still she prayed until at last she could pray no more. She felt a witness of the Holy
Spirit that her request was granted and that her son's salvation was already a reality,
That same afternoon, back at home, Hudson was having a half-day
holiday. Finding himself with time on his hands and bored he went into his father's study
to find a book to read. Failing to Find one that interested him he flipped through a
little pile of pamphlets. A gospel booklet attracted his attention and he picked it up but
only with the intention of reading the story part. It was a warm June day and he retreated
with it into the old warehouse behind the shop and curled up in a corner, fully intending
to stop reading when he came to the religious bit. But one sentence suddenly struck him
and made him think. The phrase was, 'The finished work of Christ'. Immediately the words
'It is finished' came into his mind. He had struggled to be a Christian in his own
strength and failed; he had got the idea that one's bad deeds had to be somehow balanced
or paid for by one's good deeds. Now the question came into his mind, 'What was finished?'
Suddenly, like a light shining into his heart, the Holy Spirit revealed the truth
to him. It was as clear and bright and warm as the rays of the summer sun shining outside.
He realised that the debt of sin was paid in full by Christ for us, for the whole world.
Then came the thought, If the whole work was finished and the whole debt paid, what was
there left for him to do? The way of salvation dawned upon Hudson at that moment. He
realised there was nothing to be done except to fall down on his knees and
accept the Saviour and His salvation, and to praise Him for ever.
There and then he fell on his knees and was praising God. At that
precise moment, many miles away his mother was also on her knees praising God for the assurance which had suddenly come to her that her
prayers for Hudson's salvation had been answered.
It was several days before Hudson ventured to share his experience
with anyone. The first to be told was his young sister Amelia, and then only after he had
made her promise to keep it a secret. Several more days passed before his mother returned
home and Hudson was bursting to tell her his good news. He met her at the door and said,
'Mother, I have some happy news for you.' She hugged him and surprised him by saying, 'I
know, my boy; I have been rejoicing for days in the glad tidings you have to tell me.'
Hudson was taken aback. 'Has my sister broken her promise then, and told you? he asked.
His mother assured him that nobody had told her anything, but God Himself had revealed it
to her, and she related to her amazed son the story of her afternoon's praying. No wonder
Hudson was convinced from the very time of his conversion in June 1849, of the power of
prayer.
That summer was, on the whole for Hudson, a very happy and
satisfying one as he experienced the first joys of salvation and service. He found courage
to confess Christ to his friends, and started to distribute religious tracts and invite
people to the services. Then, along with his young sister Amelia, he began 'door-knocking'
in the poorest parts of the town, witnessing and giving out tracts.
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