Early Life and Career
Lake was originally from Ontario, Canada. He was from a large family, 16 brothers and sisters, which was continually affected with illness, and his memory of childhood was that there was always someone in the house either sick, dying or dead. At the age of twenty-one, he became a Methodist minister; however, he chose to enter the business world instead of accepting a church ministry. Lake was a very industrious businessman and started two newspapers before beginning a very successful career in real estate.
Early in his career, Lake's wife, whom he deeply loved, fell ill with a life threatening illness. Having a lifetime of suffering and bereavement behind him, he refused to accept this. He took the radical step of taking his brother who had been an invalid for 22 years to Chicago see John Alexander Dowie. In a matter of just moments after healing ministers laid their hands on him, he was healed—he got up and walked out. Next, the Lakes took their 34-year-old sister who was dying from breast cancer. She had been operated on five times and had to be carried on a stretcher. She too was healed Dowie and Lake then prayed for another sister who was bleeding to death, and she too lived. That left only Jennie. Yes, healing was coming, but this time, Lake decided it would be different. This time, he was setting the time for it. The time—9:30 a.m., April 28, 1898. Lake called and telegraphed friends, instructing them to pray at the appointed time, because at precisely 9:30 a.m., he would lay his hands on his wife and she would be healed. It was that simple. She was healed at that time, crying with a voice as big as her husband's boldness that startled her husband, -- "Praise God! I am healed!" Dowie had a reputation as a famous healing evangelist/preacher; he was the founder of Zion, Illinois. Lekes' healings drew other people to them requesting prayers for healing, which altered the direction of Lake’s life and ministry.
Lake maintained relationships with many of the leading figures of his day including railroad tycoon James Jerome Hill, Cecil Rhodes, Mahatma Gandhi, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others. By the time he left for the mission field he walked away from a $50,000 year salary (around 1.25 million in 2007 dollars), as well as his seat on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Read more about this topic: John G. Lake
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