The efficacy of wartime intercessory prayer by God’s covenant people is one of the most important, though least told stories in Church History. But at a time when the war to stymie the malevolent plans of Islamic terrorists and to liberate the Iraqi and Kurdish peoples continues to rage between the Tigris and Euphrates, it would behoove us to hear and heed, recall and recover.
King Alfred the Great saved the English people during the 9th century Viking invasions with the help of praying saints throughout the little kingdom of Wessex. Read of their exploits in the marvelous epic verse, THE BALLAD OF THE WHITE HORSE, by G.K. Chesterton (Ignatius).
Another great epic poem by Chesterton, THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO, though focusing on the courage and vision of Don John of Austria, likewise recalls the importance of the supplications of God’s faithful at home (Everyman Classics).
The Puritans in England not only deployed their men at arms to defend England against the onslaught of the Spanish Armada, they mobilized their churches for effectual praying. The story of the amazing results may be found in the memoir, FERVENT PRAYERS AVAILING, by Jonathan Mahew (Commission Books).
George Washington’s diligent and persistent intercessions during the long cold winter at Valley Forge are recalled in Douglas Southall Freeman’s magisterial biographical work, GEORGE WASHINGTON (Scribner).
Rees Howells and his students at the Welsh Bible College are among the most notable modern examples of wartime intercessors--praying fervently during the grave crises of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, D-Day, and the Jewish exodus following the Nazi Holocaust. The story is told in the worldwide best selling book, REES HOWELLS: INTERCESSOR, by Norman Grubb (Lutterworth Press).
