The Power of Prayer

 “Don’t worry; instead, pray about everything." ~ Philippians 4:6

Dunkirk remains one of the three most influential events from WWII (Battle of Britain and D-Day also stick in the public’s memory).  Yet Dunkirk is not simply a riveting story; it’s also an intriguing one because even today the word ‘miracle’ defines it.  Here’s the back story.

On May 10, 1940, Adolf Hitler unleashed a massive assault on France and Belgium.  Outsmarted and unprepared, the British Army, along with soldiers of other Allied nations, found themselves with their backs to the sea and hemmed in by enemy troops.

Hitler boasted that his forces would soon “annihilate the entire British Army”.  With the entire front collapsing rapidly, Churchill prepared to concede an unprecedented military defeat and evacuate all troops from the continent via the port of Dunkirk.

But it didn’t happen.

Expecting the worst, King George VI requested that Sunday, May 26^th be observed as a National Day of Prayer.  In a stirring broadcast, he called the British people to commit their cause to God.

His Majesty and subjects from all parts of the Empire flocked to their churches to join in prayer. The scene outside Westminster Abbey was remarkably crowded; long queues of people couldn’t even get in.  The Daily Sketch proclaimed that “Nothing like it has ever happened before!”

Their pleas didn’t go unanswered.  At least three miracles would soon occur.

First, in a decision that infuriated his generals and still baffles historians, Hitler halted his troops’ advance only ten miles from the front.  Had they continued, WWII would’ve taken a darker, more destructive path.  Historians contend that Hitler believed his air superiority would be enough to prevent a large-scale troop evacuation by sea.

But a storm of unprecedented ferocity broke two days later grounding German Luftwaffe squadrons.  In the darkness of the storm and the violence of the rain, British troops retreated to the coast unharmed.  The Fuehrer hadn’t taken the weather into his reckoning ... nor the One who controls the weather!

Despite the storm, English Channel seas quieted during the days that followed.  Its waters became as still as a millpond making the perilous evacuation far less hazardous.  The unexpected serenity enabled a vast armada of cargo and war ships, privately owned yachts, and almost anything that would float to evacuate 338,000 British soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk.  

Many of them returned four years later to liberate Europe.

Defeat and the invasion of Britain were averted.  Can you imagine what life in Europe would be like if they hadn't been rescued?

Dunkirk stands as an extraordinary reassurance to pray faithfully.  However great our problems, God is greater than them all.  The “Miracle of Dunkirk’ was indeed a military epic, but the idea of praying to God for deliverance seems to be something well worth encouraging.

Father God, remind me to notice the miracles already present in my life.  Help me understand that circumstances are lining up in accordance with Your perfect plan.  Help me play my part in the healing this world.  Amen