While We Pray And While We Plead

Daniel Webster Whittle (1840–1901) was an American evangelist, Bible teacher, and prolific gospel hymn lyricist whose songs became cherished in late nineteenth-century evangelical worship and beyond. He was born on November 22, 1840, in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, and was named after the famed statesman Daniel Webster. Whittle first served in the American Civil War, enlisting in 1861 with the 72nd Illinois Infantry and rising to the rank of major, a title by which he was later widely known. His wartime experiences, including serious injury, deeply affected his outlook and spiritual life and helped shape his later hymn writing. 

After the war Whittle worked briefly in secular business, but his heart was drawn into full-time Christian service under the influence of Dwight L. Moody, the famed revivalist. He became an evangelistic speaker and Bible teacher, traveling widely across the United States and Great Britain in revival campaigns. Whittle formed close working relationships with leading musicians of his day, including Philip P. Bliss and James McGranahan, who set many of his lyrics to music. His hymn texts often bore the pseudonym El Nathan, and he penned around 200 hymns that blended heartfelt devotion, biblical assurance, and encouragement for believers. 

Among his most enduring songs are I Know Whom I Have Believed (1883), There Shall Be Showers of Blessing, and The Banner of the Cross. These hymns, set to music primarily by McGranahan, remain familiar in hymnals and evangelical song collections because of their comforting theology and devotional resonance. I Know Whom I Have Believed in particular expresses confident trust in Christ and has been especially meaningful to generations of Christians.

Whittle was also connected personally with Moody’s family, as his daughter May married Moody’s son and contributed musically to hymn projects, including writing tunes for some of Whittle’s later texts. He continued in evangelistic and hymn work until his death on March 4, 1901, in Northfield, Massachusetts. His legacy endures in the hymns that continue to encourage believers in faith, devotion, and worship around the world.