The Great Awakening P9

Last week we left off where John Marrant, the free born black, who met up with the Rev. Whitefield, was saved and was about to be executed by the Cherokees after given the details of how he was to be executed.

When the Cherokees seized John Marrant to execute him, he fell to his knees and began to pray and praise God in their language. His prayers had a dramatic effect, and the executioner, the judge, and finally the chief (whom John called the king) came to believe in Jesus. John Marrant reported: The king himself was awakened spiritually and the others set at spiritual liberty. A great change took place among the people; the king’s house became God’s house; the soldiers were ordered away; and the poor condemned prisoner, (John Marrant) had perfect liberty and was treated like a prince. Now the Lord made all my enemies become my great friends.

After being released from his captivity, the chief granted John Marrant freedom to evangelize among his tribe, which he did for the next nine weeks. Then, with the chief’s blessing and 50 Cherokee warriors accompanying him as bodyguards, John Marrant traveled to the Creek tribe to preach to them, then the Catawar tribe, and finally the Housaw tribe. He became the first black American to successfully evangelize Native Americans, and he did so at the age of 14.

Content sourced from The American Story - The Beginnings By David Barton & Tim Barton