John Graham Lake, (1870-1935), usually known as "John G. Lake", was a businessman influenced by the healing ministry of
John Alexander Dowie, received the
baptism of the Holy Spirit in
1907 in the wake of the
Azusa Street Revival and became known for his ministry as a missionary and “
faith healer.” His life and message are represented in a book compiled by Roberts Liardon, entitled,
John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings.
Lake was originally from Ontario, Canada. He was from a large family, 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. Lake was a very industrious businessman, and started two newspapers, before beginning a very successful career in real estate. By the time he left for the mission field he walked away from a $50,000 year salary (around 1 million in 2005 dollars), as well as his seat on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Early in his career, Lake's wife, whom he deeply loved, and even adored, fell ill with a life threatening illness. Having a lifetime of suffering and bereavement behind him, he refused to accept this, and took the radical step of taking her to see John Alexander Dowie. Dowie had a reputation as a wild faith healer and founder of Zion City, Illinois fifty miles north of Chicago around this belief. Lake's wife recovered and he was drawn into Dowie's movement, and he eventually became and elder in the church. It was here that he began to practice "divine healing". Although Dowie rejected the Pentecostal message, a number of early Pentecostal leaders, including F.F. Bosworth, were trained under Dowie.
Lake's greatest ministry was in South Africa, and his ministry there had dramatic and far reaching consequences. The incredible stories of his ministry are too numerous to recount [and difficult to verify]. With Thomas Hezmalhalch he founded the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa in 1908, which attracted many of the early Zionists led by Pieter L. le Roux of Wakkerstroom. Le Roux took over the leadership of the Apostolic Faith Mission when Lake returned to America, and led it for 30 years.
Lake's ministry was unique and he had relationships with many of the leading figures of his day including railroad tycoon, James J. Hill, Cecil Rhodes, Mahatma Gandhi, Conan Doyle, and others. After his ministry in South Africa, he returned to the US and settled in Spokane, Washington, where he established "Healing Rooms", and saw tens of thousands allegedly healed either under his hands or those he trained.
I was listening to the news last night. They had a report on it about how long people stay in traffic in order to get to work. 
I was reading a story how some 25 Missouri teenagers caused an elevator to quit operating when I thought of my Navy story.