Smith Wigglesworth: The Evangelist Who Rejected Medicine for Faith

Smith Wigglesworth was an evangelist who performed many lasting miracles of great significance and laid the foundation for the growth of the Holy Spirit in the modern church. He was born in 1859 in England into abject poverty. He had a caring mother and father, as well as a Christian grandmother who molded his mind and spirit.

His grandmother was a Wesleyan, and she encouraged him to serve God. One day in church, while Smith was singing about Jesus, he felt drawn closer to God, and this experience changed his life forever. At the age of 20, he moved to Liverpool to start his plumbing work, which he had learned from his father. He spent his salary to feed and clothe poor children and brought hundreds of them to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This was his first ministry.

Smith was unable to read and write, but he overcame this with the help of Mary Featherstone, whom he married in 1882. They met in the Salvation Army when Smith moved to Bradford. Together, they had five children—four boys and one girl—who all entered the ministry when they grew up. In the early days, Mary was the only one who preached because Smith was still learning to read and was also constrained by a slight stuttering problem.

When Smith was baptized in the Holy Ghost, he was delivered from his stuttering and anointed to preach. Mary could not believe it was her husband preaching the first time he ministered. Before then, his role in ministry had been to intercede for his wife and provide for their financial needs. Smith devoted himself to reading the Bible and carried a New Testament wherever he went. His sermons were full of God’s Word. He prayed and fasted frequently and surrounded himself with people who loved to pray.

Smith believed in the use of anointing oil, and many were healed instantly when he anointed them. One miraculous case was that of Mrs. Clark, who was on her deathbed when Smith met her. He anointed her with oil and prayed, and Jesus appeared in the room. Both Smith and Mrs. Clark saw Jesus, and she was healed immediately.

Smith and his wife had an agreement never to allow medicine in their house, trusting only in God for their healing. This faith was tested when Smith fell ill. Despite much prayer and intercession, healing did not come forth. His wife, fearing for his life and concerned about what people would say if no doctor was called, decided to summon a doctor. The doctor declared Smith "as good as a corpse" and said he could do nothing to help him. However, as his wife and a young man who had come to visit prayed fervently for him, Smith was miraculously healed in that moment. He rose up, got dressed, and went out to work.

Smith Wigglesworth became known as the "Apostle of Faith." Thousands of his healing miracles have been documented, and many were even raised from the dead. He passed away on March 12, 1947, at the age of 87.

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