When the allied
armies were ready to land on the shores of France to
storm the ramparts of nazi Germany, the word was given to
pray. On D-Day millions of prayers went up from
servicemen and civilians. Almost every paper and magazine
carried printed prayers as our soldiers wrestled with a
determined foe. One paper said, "All in all, the
invasion probably inspired the greatest mass intercession
in history."
But the moment the
allies won the war, they forgot to pray! When our
statesmen started forming a peace treaty at the San
Francisco Conference, they neglected to ask God's help. I
believe this is the first major conference in which the
United States took part that prayer for divine guidance
was not uttered.
In our efforts to
bring a just and lasting peace to the world, we should do
well to remember the works of Benjamin Franklin as he
spoke to the chairman of the Constitutional Convention.
He said, "I have lived, sir, a long time; and the
longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this
truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a
sparrow cannot fall to the ground with His notice, it is
possible that an empire can rise without His aid? We have
been assured in the sacred writing that except the Lord
build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I
firmly believe this; and I also believe that without this
concurring aid we shall succeed in this political
building no better than the builders of Babel."
Starting Sunday,
August 11, I will begin a series of sermons on prayer.
James 4:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much in its working." The
question is: do we believe it? If not, why not? My prayer
for every member at Ninth & Main is to make Bible
study an prayer a regular part of our lives.
May God bless us as
we seek to pray and study His word.
In Christian Love,
John Hobbs
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