According to James, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (5:16).
But does prayer shape or even change history?
On this 75th anniversary of the National Day of Prayer, an annual observance that strives to mobilize and encourage believers to appeal to the Lord, it might be encouraging to consider just how often God has answered the cries of His people here in America.
Here are just seven:
1. The Thwarting of French Forces
Prior to the American Revolution, colonists recognized their desperate need for divine guidance.
The dramatic story is told of France’s violent plans to conquer New England and beyond in 1746. They sent 70 ships and over 13,000 men to get the job done. Word spread to Massachusetts. In response to news of the ominous invasion, Governor William Shirley called for a “Day of Prayer and Fasting.”
The Reverend Thomas Prince of Boston’s “Old South Church” gathered his congregation and prayed that God would thwart the attack. He prayed from the pulpit:
“Send Thy tempest, Lord, upon the water…scatter the ships of our tormentors!”
According to the record, the skies drew dark, the wind picked up, and even the church bells rang – even though nobody was there to ring them. A hurricane blew in from the Atlantic and sank the French fleet, killing over 2,000 of the troops.
The famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote about the remarkably swift and decisive answer to prayer:
“Admiral d’Anville had sworn by cross and crown, to ravage with fire and steel our helpless Boston Town…From mouth to mouth spread tidings of dismay, I stood in the Old South saying humbly: ‘Let us pray!’…Like a potter’s vessel broke, the great ships of the line, were carried away as smoke or sank in the brine.”
A mere coincidence?
God answered their prayers.
2. The American Revolution
Just prior to the American Revolution, the Continental Congress called on the colonists to pray:
That we may with united hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere repentance and amendment of life appease His righteous displeasure…
God answered their prayers.
3. The Brutal Winter at Valley Forge
During the brutal winter encampment at Valley Forge, George Washington called on his men to pray on countless occasions. Here is one prayer that was recorded:
O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of Kings and Lord of Lords… prosper the means of education and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth.
God answered their prayers.
4. The Fog that Saved America
Many believe it was prayer that led to the Continental Army’s miraculous escape from Brooklyn in August 1776. Trapped, cornered, and vastly outnumbered, the 9,000 troops were only able to evade the British because of a dense fog that suddenly descended on the area.
In the days following the daring escape, George Washington and his troops talked up the “providential” and “miraculous” fog. Previously bedraggled and demoralized, they took the night’s turn as a sign that God’s favor was upon them – and it gave them energy and hope to keep going.
God answered their prayers.
5. The Constitutional Convention
We know that the delegates in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention were at a stalemate until Benjamin Franklin urged them to pray – and keep praying each day of the gathering. They soon settled their differences and agreed on the framework and final wording of the Constitution.
God answered their prayers.
6. The Civil War
President Lincoln called for multiple days of fasting and prayer during the Civil War. He once observed, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
God answered their prayers.
7. D-Day
During World War II, just as Allied forces began driving to liberate France and Western Europe, President Franklin Roosevelt led the nation in prayer on the radio. Appealing to God, he said:
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith … Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces … With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace, invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.
God answered their prayers.
Of course, there have been countless times in American history when prayers were offered and answered – but then all too quickly forgotten. When we pray for safety and provision and then nothing bad happens and our needs are met, we don’t always have a dramatic story to tell.
When a would-be assassin is thwarted or a bullet from his gun misses the mark, do we attribute such occurrences to good luck, random fate – or prayers for protection?
We believe that God is sovereign, but men and women are responsible – and one of their responsibilities is to pray for America and her leaders.
On this National Day of Prayer, never forget: God answers our prayers.