The Secret Place of Andrew Bonar

Andrew Alexander Bonar was born on May 29, 1810 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the youngest of a family already rich with spiritual heritage. His elder brother Horatius would later be known as one of Scotland's greatest hymn writers. Andrew's childhood was marked by both intellectual vigor and deep piety, for he was surrounded by books and prayers. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and later pursued theological training, but his real shaping came not merely through classrooms but through companionship with men who burned for revival. Among his closest friends was Robert Murray M'Cheyne, with whom he shared both pulpit labors and secret seasons of intercession.

Bonar was ordained in 1838 and became minister in Collace, Perthshire. In 1856 he moved to the Finnieston Free Church in Glasgow, where he remained until his death. His life spanned the disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843, the great revivals in the mid-nineteenth century, and the missionary awakening that sent workers across the globe. He chronicled these movements with a pastor's pen and a watchman's tears. When M'Cheyne died in 1843, Bonar edited and published Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, a book that carried the fragrance of a young man wholly given to God and that stirred revival hearts across continents.

In writing the story of his friend, Bonar was also telling his own story, for the same spirit of prayer and holiness that marked M'Cheyne was evident in his own hidden walk. He was a student of the Word with a poet's heart. His sermons were Christ-centered, warm, and tender. Yet behind every public address was a long apprenticeship in secret prayer. His diaries reveal hours of solitude, confession, and supplication. He measured days not by accomplishments but by the time he had spent on his knees. Even in the bustle of Glasgow he guarded early mornings and late evenings to commune with God. The revival of 1859–1860 in Scotland found him laboring with tears, pleading for souls with the urgency of eternity.

He never sought fame. When D. L. Moody came to Scotland in the 1870s, Bonar welcomed him and supported the evangelistic campaign, even though it drew crowds far larger than his own ministry ever did. For Bonar, the point was never prominence but the presence of God. He prayed for unity among believers and for purity in the church. He continued in faithful ministry until his death on December 30, 1892.