NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Hutt News, Volume 15, Issue 42, 15 April 1942, Page 8

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

B. Company, Mutt Battalion Home Guard, held a service at its p bivouac area on Sunday, 29th e March. The service was opened by f singing the National Anthem. Lieut. \ R. B. Henderson then ottered pray- / ers. Scripture reading. Romans \ xii, 1 to S was read by Lieut F. [ Dyer and Captain A. J. Gearing offered the prayer of confession. t An inspiring address was delivered by Lieut. W. H. Huthnance, and 1 is hereunder reproduced: 1 Discipline, the word beloved of i anyone in a position of authority, t s perhaps the most misunderstood i word they can use. Often, it means < to them a blind obedience to their commands, leaving no room for the use of our intelligence- or will. No ( man should ever be asked to surrender his intelligence, his personality to another. For it is exactly that system that is threatening the world to-day whereby men seek to impose their will on others through fear. In a democracy there is no room for fear. But, discipline of some sort is necessary if ever a body of men are to act in a common cause as a unit. To me, discipline or loyalty mean almost the same thing; for in a disciplined man, all his ability, all his affection even his life, are willingly devoted to a "cause he believes to be true. It is an act of his free will, and is governed by his own intelligence. There are false ideas of loyalty about. For. some it means just "flag wagging" or standing at attention when the National Anthem is played. I see loyalty to one's country and discipline in the same light in which Jesus spoke of loyalty to himself. His word was self denial. That word means exactly what it say's. It means a real denial of one's self and denial of what we are pleased to call one's rights and privileges. We hear otp people with divided loyalties, and such people are al : ways restless and unhappy, because, they have not learned to discipline 4,hemsielves. St. Paul uses nietaphores from sport to describe his loyalties,. his discipline, his selfdenial. He refers to himself as a "runner, a boxer who keeps his body in subjection." Each part of him, his mind;,; his Jiis body, has its proper-, job, an#;true discipline is not diie or other of them but $9 unite tft£iii in service. That I believe is theiiliighr est conception of discipli|Te. If we are- disciplined, not only r do we act as a united body, instead g of self ascertive individuals, but, all our faculties are brought to a comi, mon purpose. Such an action will keep us from self Peeking, from cruelty, etc. '

It is always the undisciplined people that get out of bounds in an emergency, in a victory or in a defeat. It was Cromwell's Ironsides wh<> *?ave us so much of our Democracy; stern men and merciful, yet who devoted everything to the purpose in hand. Cromwell /could 'say with truth that he could depend on his men. To-day is an Empire day of Prayer, when we all pray for God's blessing. We believe that we are fighting in a just cause. We have to forget ourselves in the cause and we have to deny ourselves; that is discipline as it should be. We know that we are not perfect. I know we sometimes sling our weight around, but after all, it is the idea for which we should strive, an idea to which we are prepared to give till it. hurts. "I beseech you therefore. brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." I believe that what I am saying, is but what we are all thinking and I believe that we all feel it very hard, just because we have not learned to subdue our own rebellious natures. Lieut. F. Dyer offered prayers for The King, and those residing in our Empire; Our Nation; Those serving in the Fonces; For Peace. f The Benediction was said by 3 Lieut. R. B. Henderson, and the L hymns sung were "God of Our Fa--1 thers'' and the New Zealand National Anthem. f —• 1