- Home
- Speakers
- Alexander Whyte
- Starving Prayer
Alexander Whyte
Alexander Whyte, born 1836, died 1921, was a Scottish preacher and theologian whose powerful sermons and imaginative biblical expositions left a profound mark on the Free Church of Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born on January 13, 1836, in Kirriemuir, Angus, to an unmarried mother, Janet Thomson, and an absent father, John Whyte, he grew up in poverty, raised by his mother and stepfather, James Low. Largely self-educated while apprenticed to a shoemaker, Whyte’s intellectual gifts led him to teach at a local school before entering the ministry. He studied at King’s College, Aberdeen, and New College, Edinburgh, under luminaries like Alexander Duff, and was ordained in 1866, first serving at Free St John’s in Glasgow before moving to Free St George’s in Edinburgh in 1870, where he preached for over 30 years. Whyte’s ministry at St George’s drew large crowds with his vivid, character-driven sermons, often exploring the inner lives of biblical figures like Jacob and Paul, as seen in works like Bible Characters (1896–1902). Appointed principal of New College, Edinburgh, in 1909, he also served as Moderator of the Free Church General Assembly in 1898, balancing pastoral duties with academic leadership. A prolific writer, his books—Bunyan Characters (1893–1908), The Walk, Conversation and Character of Jesus Christ Our Lord (1905), and others—blended scholarship with devotional depth, earning praise from figures like Charles Spurgeon. Married twice, first to Jane Elizabeth Duncan (d. 1880) and then to Jane Barbour Stewart, he fathered eight children. Whyte died on January 6, 1921, in Edinburgh, and as of March 21, 2025, his legacy endures through his writings and influence on Scottish Presbyterianism.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
Alexander Whyte emphasizes the importance of dedicating sufficient time to prayer, cautioning against rushing through prayers and highlighting the need for depth and sincerity in our communication with God. He warns against being overly spiritual in prayer, urging believers to understand that true prayer requires effort, sacrifice, and a willingness to invest time and energy. Whyte stresses that genuine prayer is not meant to be easy or convenient, but rather a challenging and transformative experience that demands our full commitment and devotion.
Scriptures
Starving Prayer
"We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (Col. 1:3). I am as certain as I am standing here, that the secret of much mischief to our own souls, and to the souls of others, lies in the way that we stint, and starve, and scamp our prayers, by hurrying over them. Prayer worth calling prayer: prayer that God will call true prayer and will treat as true prayer, takes far more time, by the clock, than one man in a thousand thinks. After all that the Holy Ghost has done to make true prayer independent of times, and of places, and of all kinds of instruments and assistances,--as long as we remain in this unspiritual and undevotional world, we shall not succeed, to be called success, in prayer, without time, and times, and places, and other assistances in prayer. Take good care that you are not spiritual overmuch in the matter of prayer. Take good care lest you take your salvation far too softly, and far too cheaply. If you find your life of prayer to be always so short, and so easy, and so spiritual, as to be without cost and strain and sweat to you, you may depend upon it, you are not yet begun to pray. As sure as you sit there, and I stand here, it is just in this matter of time in prayer that so many of us are making shipwreck of our own souls, and of the souls of others.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
Alexander Whyte, born 1836, died 1921, was a Scottish preacher and theologian whose powerful sermons and imaginative biblical expositions left a profound mark on the Free Church of Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born on January 13, 1836, in Kirriemuir, Angus, to an unmarried mother, Janet Thomson, and an absent father, John Whyte, he grew up in poverty, raised by his mother and stepfather, James Low. Largely self-educated while apprenticed to a shoemaker, Whyte’s intellectual gifts led him to teach at a local school before entering the ministry. He studied at King’s College, Aberdeen, and New College, Edinburgh, under luminaries like Alexander Duff, and was ordained in 1866, first serving at Free St John’s in Glasgow before moving to Free St George’s in Edinburgh in 1870, where he preached for over 30 years. Whyte’s ministry at St George’s drew large crowds with his vivid, character-driven sermons, often exploring the inner lives of biblical figures like Jacob and Paul, as seen in works like Bible Characters (1896–1902). Appointed principal of New College, Edinburgh, in 1909, he also served as Moderator of the Free Church General Assembly in 1898, balancing pastoral duties with academic leadership. A prolific writer, his books—Bunyan Characters (1893–1908), The Walk, Conversation and Character of Jesus Christ Our Lord (1905), and others—blended scholarship with devotional depth, earning praise from figures like Charles Spurgeon. Married twice, first to Jane Elizabeth Duncan (d. 1880) and then to Jane Barbour Stewart, he fathered eight children. Whyte died on January 6, 1921, in Edinburgh, and as of March 21, 2025, his legacy endures through his writings and influence on Scottish Presbyterianism.