"While Finney was preaching to the masses and seeing remarkable conversions, a humble man was prostrate in a house nearby, in intensive prayer for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
One account was when Nash arrived in Evan Mills; he had a “praying list,” as he called it, with the names of people whose salvation he prayed for daily. Even several times a day he would pray for the same people and he got results. As Finney said, "He concentrated entirely on praying for people who were so hard that they could not be reached in any other way."
When Nash learned of a bar owner who was causing a good deal of trouble for the Christians in the community he wrote the man’s name on his list as a hard case. The bar owner was known to accost (confront) those he knew to be Christians with the most abusive and foul language. His bar had a reputation for entertaining people who were engaged in drunkenness and profane revelry (partying).
Not long afterward this hard case showed up at one of Charles’s meetings. His appearance caused considerable commotion but as he caused no trouble when he entered Charles left him alone, though he felt obliged to keep an eye on him throughout the service. As the meeting progressed Charles sensed that the man was uneasy. He fidgeted constantly in his seat; finally he arose and asked if he could speak. When Charles gave him permission to do so, He poured himself out in broken hearted repentance before those who had gathered. It was incredibly moving for everyone there, and many whose hearts had been hardened against what Charles had been preaching found themselves broken before God as well. Within a short time, the man made his peace with God and closed his bar to the debauchery that had formally been prevalent in it. For the remainder of the time that Finney spent in this town, a prayer meeting virtually took place every night in this bar.”
Finney recounts one episode; "When I came to a town to start revival, a lady contacted me. She said, 'Brother Finney, do you know a Father Nash? He and two other men have been staying with me for the last three days, but they haven't eaten anything. I heard them groaning, so I looked in and saw them prostrate. They have been lying like that for three days. I thought something terrible must have happened, but I was afraid to go in and didn't know what to do. Could you please come and see if they are all right?' No, that's unnecessary, I said. They are only travailing in prayer."
Nash didn't just pray before Finney came. While Finney was preaching, Nash and other intercessors were in a separate room, praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the preacher.
Finney clearly saw that the important thing in fruitful ministry was powerful prayer which meant that the Holy Spirit came on the assembly with such conviction that the conversions were real. Remarkably, up to 80 percent of the converts made during his preaching remained believers."