Top 24 Hudson Taylor Quotes

by Pamela Rose Williams · Print Print · Email Email

Hudson Taylor (James Hudson Taylor) was raised in the Methodist church. As he grew in Christ he became non-denominational in his fellowship and practices. He was best known as an influential missionary to China where he founded the China Inland Mission (now known as OMF International). During his affiliation with CIM he helped in the campaign against Opium trade in China and because of this he was well respected. He was enthusiastic about the Chinese culture and fervent in evangelism. Here are my top 24 favorite Hudson Taylor quotes.

#24 “Perhaps if there were more of that intense distress for souls that leads to tears, we should more frequently see the results we desire. Sometimes it may be that while we are complaining of the hardness of the hearts of those we are seeking to benefit, the hardness of our own hearts and our feeble apprehension of the solemn reality of eternal things may be the true cause of our want of success.”

#23 “It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home.”

#22 “I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it; but I have never seen a man pray without working.”

#21 “As our Father makes many a flower to bloom unseen in the lonely desert, [let us] do all that we can do, as under God’s eye, though no other eye ever take note of it.”

#20 “Many Christians estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources, and thus attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt. All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence with them.”

#19 “At the timberline where the storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are found.”

#18 “Whatever is your best time in the day, give that to communion with God.”

#17 “I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me.”

#16 “To every toiling, heavy-laden sinner, Jesus says, Come to me and rest. But there are many toiling, heavy-laden believers, too. For them this same invitation is meant. Note well the words of Jesus, if you are heavy-laden with your service, and do not mistake it. It is not, Go, labor on, as perhaps you imagine. On the contrary, it is stop, turn back, Come to me and rest. Never, never did Christ send a heavy laden one to work; never, never did He send a hungry one, a weary one, a sick or sorrowing one, away on any service. For such the Bible only says, Come, come, come.”

Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China,  was enthusiastic about the Chinese culture and fervent in evangelism

Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China, was enthusiastic about the Chinese culture and fervent in evangelism

#15 “It is the consciousness of the threefold joy of the Lord, His joy in ransoming us, His joy in dwelling within us as our Saviour and Power for fruitbearing and His joy in possessing us, as His Bride and His delight; it is the consciousness of this joy which is our real strength. Our joy in Him may be a fluctuating thing: His joy in us knows no change.”

#14 “I am so weak that I can hardly write, I cannot read my Bible, I cannot even pray, I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child, and trust.”

#13 “The use of means ought not to lessen our faith in God, and our faith in God ought not to hinder our using whatever means He has given us for the accomplishment of His own purposes.”

#12 “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”

#11 “Do not work so hard for Christ that you have no strength to pray, for prayer requires strength.”

#10 “All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestations of His grace, power and love.”

#9“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

#8 “The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.”

#7 “You must go forward on your knees.”

#6 “There are three indispensable requirements for a missionary: 1. Patience 2. Patience 3. Patience.”

#5 “Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power.”

#4 “I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”

#3 “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”

#2 “I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize the Lord is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient.”

#1 Hudson Taylor quote is one that I often hear my friend Jack Wellman say: “Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all”

It doesn’t take a trip to China to be an effective witness for the Lord. Start right outside of your door. Tell someone about Jesus today and get on fire for the Lord, just like Hudson Taylor.

Are you called to be a missionary? Take a look at this article by missionary David Peach:

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