Rees Howells
Rees Howells was a prince among intercessors – a uniquely crafted vessel in God’s hands.
Born in Wales in 1879, Rees was the sixth of the eleven Howells children. Life was happy but hard, and at twelve, Rees left school to begin working in an iron works.
From his earliest days he loved to visit his grandparents up on Black Mountain. They had both been converted in the 1859 revival, and “to cross their threshold was to pass from earth to heaven.” Becoming a member of the chapel at thirteen, Rees resolved to “live up to the teaching of the Saviour,” an idea he got from reading Sheldon’s famous “In His Steps.”
Because he wanted to make money and see the world, America became an irresistible temptation. All went well until a trio of unexpected events jolted him out of his complacency. Firstly, a cousin, Evan Lewis, asked him one day if he was born again, and persisted when Rees couldn’t give a straight answer. The second thing was the challenge from reading Drummond’s classic “Natural Law in the Spirit World.” Rees Howells now realised he didn’t know the indwelling Saviour. The third was typhoid fever. At twenty-three he found himself facing death and was desperately afraid.
Do you regularly pray for specific unsaved people? Every Christian should but few ever do. Will you begin? Will you ask God for one or two people to regularly pray for? Be prepared to persevere. You never know; you just might find yourself praying for a future Rees Howells.
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