Biography
Jessie Jones was born on February 28, 1861, in Neath, Wales. Her father, Thomas Jones, was a Calvinistic Methodist, a civil engineer and a man of strong character, and her mother was a woman of deep faith. Jessie grew up in a home in which the Bible was read daily. When she was a child, the family moved to Brighton, England, and later to Cardiff. She had weak health from her youth. She was sensitive and thoughtful, and she was drawn to the things of the spirit. At the age of seventeen, she was converted through a book.
In 1882, she married William Penn-Lewis, a Welshman who was a prosperous businessman. They lived in Richmond, near London, and later moved to Leicester. She was a devoted wife and mother. Her husband was supportive of her work and gave her room to pursue her calling. In the 1890s, she began to speak at women's meetings, and she was invited to address the Keswick Convention. She became one of its few women speakers and was widely respected. She taught on the way of the cross and the believer's union with Christ in His death and resurrection.
She wrote a number of books, which circulated widely. The best known is The Cross of Calvary and Its Message, published in 1903, which set out the meaning of the cross for the Christian life. She taught that the believer is called to take up his cross and to be crucified with Christ, and that this is the way to freedom from the power of sin. Her views were close to those of the Keswick movement, but she gave more attention to the cross than to the filling of the Spirit. Her writing was clear and earnest.
She was also involved in the Welsh Revival of 1904 and 1905, in which her friend Evan Roberts played a central part. She worked with Roberts and supported him in his work. She traveled in Wales and wrote about the revival. After the revival, she was concerned about the extent to which it had been marked by errors and excesses. She believed that evil spirits had worked in the meetings and deceived some of the believers. In 1912, she wrote, with Evan Roberts, a book on the subject, War on the Saints. It set out her view that Christians could be misled by demonic powers, especially in meetings where the mind was passive. The book was controversial, and it has been criticized for its emphasis on spiritual deception. It also drew attention to a real danger, and many people found it helpful.
She founded a magazine, The Overcomer, in 1909, and edited it for many years. It carried her writing and that of others on the deeper life, the cross and spiritual warfare. She also wrote Soul and Spirit and The Spirit of Prayer. She worked tirelessly in spite of her illnesses. She suffered from a nervous condition and from physical problems, and she was often confined to bed. She did much of her writing from her sickroom.
Her work has been praised and criticized. Her teaching on the cross has been valued by many, and her teaching on spiritual warfare has been questioned by those who think it gives too much weight to demons. She was a gentle and hidden woman who did not seek acclaim. In her last years, she lived in Leicester and continued to write.
She died on August 15, 1927, at the age of sixty-six. Her books are still widely read, and some of them are classics of the deeper life. Her life shows how a frail woman may be a channel of grace to many, and how a quiet life of prayer may be the source of lasting work.