Biography
John Graham Lake was born on March 18, 1870, in St. Mary's, Ontario, Canada. His family was of Scottish descent, and he was the seventh of sixteen children. They moved to Michigan when he was a boy. He grew up in a devout Methodist household, and he was sickly. He was converted in his youth and went on to work as a newspaper editor and a businessman. He was a man of ambition, and he made a fortune in the insurance business. He moved to Zion City, Illinois, the community founded by the healing evangelist John Alexander Dowie, and settled there with his wife, Jennie.
His life in Zion was marked by suffering. His wife had tuberculosis and was healed, he said, through the prayer of faith. A number of his family members also suffered from sickness and were reported to be healed. This drew him into the ministry of healing. In 1907, he came into the Pentecostal movement and received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He felt called to go to Africa and to preach the gospel. In 1908, he and a group of about sixty people, including his family, sailed for South Africa. He gave up his business and his wealth.
In South Africa, he made a deep impression. He and Thomas Hezmalhalch, a Pentecostal preacher, began meetings in Johannesburg. They held services among both Black and white people, which was unusual in that society. Many were converted and healed. The movement they began, the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, grew quickly and became the largest Pentecostal church in the country. He trained African leaders, among them Elias Letwaba, and planted a large number of congregations. He worked in the country until 1913. His wife died in 1908, and he buried her in South Africa. He was heartbroken, but he carried on.
He returned to the United States in 1913 and settled in Spokane, Washington, where he founded the Spokane Healing Rooms. He had a small office in a downtown building, and he welcomed anyone who came for prayer. He trained a team of helpers who prayed for the sick. In the next five years, thousands of people came to the Healing Rooms, and the city was said to be known as the healthiest in America. He also held meetings and taught on the subject of healing. He wrote a number of sermons that have been collected and widely read.
His teaching stressed that every believer has the authority of Christ to heal. He spoke of the Spirit and of the life of faith. He was a bold man, and he preached with passion. He was criticized for some of his claims and for the lack of medical verification of the healings. Some of his opponents said that he was taking advantage of the sick. His emphasis on faith could also be read to suggest that those who were not healed lacked faith, a view that has caused harm. He did not claim that all were healed, and he said that he struggled with the question of why some were not.
He remarried in 1913 to Florence Switzer, and the two had several children. Later, he moved to Portland, Oregon, and to California, where he continued to hold meetings. He had a stroke in 1935, and he died on September 16, 1935, in Spokane, at the age of sixty-five. His life shows the power of a man who gave up wealth for the sake of the gospel. His work has had a deep influence on the healing and charismatic movements.