There is an Austrailian historian and thinker from whom I continue to learn a great deal. His name is John Anderson. In the following video (less than 3 minutes long) he discusses how many Brits gathered for prayer during the WWII Battle of Dunkirk from late May to early June of 1940, and of how Christians assembled to pray for their troops amidst Germany’s seemingly formidable forces.

Questions:

How is this relevant for us? Well, it is so easy and tempting to give in to despair, if you have a certain theology. If you’re convinced that things are only going to get worse, your prayer life will evaporate. Why? Well, because you’ve convinced yourself that it’s all downhill, so why bother.

But is that view biblical?

Per Scripture, we are to pray because of who God is.

We tend to underestimate God and likewise underestimate the power of prayer. I have certainly been guilty of that.

Here are just some of the obvious reminders from Scripture about our duty to pray:

• “pray without ceasing,” (1 Thess. 5:17, ESV)
• And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Mt 6:5-13, ESV)
• “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (Jas. 5:16b, ESV).
• “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Mt 21:22, ESV)

Encouragement: Again, it’s just a 2.5 minute video, but it touches on how soldiers and civilians, believers from a across a land, gathered and prayed, and of what happened. Real history, real prayers, and the real God.