The record of the miracles in Lyles Diaries were saved by the providence of God, according to historian Robert Davidson: "The Diaries of the Rev. John Lyle were just on the point of being committed to the flames as waste paper, when they fell into the author's hands, through the friendly agency of the Rev. Robert Stuart. In looking over the contents, which were seen at a glance to be of inestimable importance, the following paragraph came to light".

"The foregoing short sketches were written hastily for private use; and should I die before I destroy them, I would not allow my friends to hand them about, or any one to use them, except some judicious friend might make an extract of those few particulars which might be useful in writing a history of the progress of religion in Kentucky."

Davidson claims he's the "judicious friend": "Hereupon the author claimed a warrant for retaining the precious manuscript, provided his venerable friend would vouch for his coming under the category of being the "judicious" person required. This Diary, kept during the height of the great revival of 1800-1803, has proved an invaluable document,
and will be frequently referred to".

Editor's Note:  Presbyterian salvation theology in America was radically changed beginning in 1768 when John Witherspoon brought Scottish Common Sense Realism to The College Of New Jersey, it infected all subsequent Presbyterian colleges and Princeton Theological Seminary. They taught regeneration did not require the immediate activity of the Holy Spirit, and regeneration was considered merely the tipping point of the understanding. For this reason, Lyle's Diary was considered by many as dangerous, challenging the Verbal Restrictive Theory of Scottish Common Sense Realism. This is why Lyle understood his Diaries to be politically incorrect.