Calling the Nations to Prayer

Northland Age, Volume IX, Issue 65, 24 May 1940, Page 1

Calling the Nations to Prayer

Next Sunday the British Empire will unite in prayer, seeking Divine Intercession to speedily end the present world conflict. Such a step has been advocated by religious journals since the declaration of war, and the following article written by A. R. Heaver and printed in “The National Message” last September gives a clear idea of the Churches’ stand : On August 4th, 1918—the fourth Anniversary of Britain’s declaration of war against Germany—special services of thanksgiving and intercession were held all over the country. It was by no means the first time during the Great War that services of intercession were held throughout the British Isles. But this occasion was unique in that it was formally led by His Majesty the King, with both Houses of Parliament, at St. Margaret’s, Westminster. Indeed, it proved to be an unprecedented act of state, which had the most miraculous results. As The Times for August sth, 1918, reports on ■ the occasion : “Any display, any pageantry, and musical decorativeness was avoided. Not only was the service itself simple, but the people who gathered outside the church to see an event in English history, bore themselves with a certain solemnity as though deeply conscious of the significance of that event.” Now observe the amazing sequence of events which follow this national approach to God, represented by this unprecedented act of state. To appreciate the full significance of what follows, it is necessary to recall that in March 1918, the British Army had suffered a serious reverse in the break through of the Germans at the part of the line held by the Fifth Army, and although the gap had been rapidly closed again, the months which immediately followed this disaster represented a period during which the war morale of the British people was at its lowest ebb. Now comes the National Day of Prayer, August 4th, 1918, and it is only necessary to search through the pages of The Times newspaper—or any of the other national dailies to see the miraculous way in which the tide was turned from that and the Allied Cause was swept on to victory. August 4th was a Sunday, and during the three days which followed, preparations were made for the attack which began on August Bth, commencing an advance which never ceased until the Armistice was signed on November 11th, 1918. Thus, The Times, on August 9th, greeted readers with the headlines : “A New Attack. British and French Success. Enemy Overrun. New Attack Opened Yesterday on a Front of 20 Miles. British Fourth Army and French First Army. By 3 p.m. Seven Thousand Prisoners.” The Times Special Correspondent described the new advance as a brilliant success and declared : “Victory is in the Air.” As we can see, studying the reports which follow, this was a remarkable prophecy to be literally fulfilled in three months’ time. On August 10th The Times’ headlines read : “The New Allied Offensive. Prisoners Seventeen Thousand. Battlefront Extended.” The leading article declared : “The new offensive initiated under the command of Sir Douglas Haig is one of the greatest and most gratifying surprises of the war. For once even the weather favoured the Allies, for the assault was launched under cover of a thick mist. No offensive in which the British Army has participated has ever made so much progress on the opening day.” Reports received from German sources confirmed the significance of this remarkable and surprising change of fortune in the complaint that “the Allies were favoured by a thick fog.” Two days after the attack was launched, a Special Correspondent of The Times was writing the following strain : “Yesterday I refrained from giving figures lest they should seem fantastic.” August 12th showed a total of 30,000 prisoners, and the headlines were already saying : “The Germans in Retreat. Enemy in Great Confusion.” On August 21st, the British Third Army, under General Byng, joined in the great advance. And on August 26th The Times was showing headlines : “Great Days.” On the 27th the headlines were reading : “Battlefront Spreading. Allies Sweep Forward.” On August 29th the news came through : “British Gains on the Home Front Line Flung Forward.” And on August 30th the stirring words : “The Tide Flowing.” It is not necessary to search the papers

An Unprecedented Act of State

beyond August 31st, when The Times’ leader summarized the events of the previous twenty-one days by saying : “During the last day or two the pace of the German retreat on the Western Front has been accelerated and this is a good sign. Armies claiming to retire by their own choice do not hurry back as the Germans have been doing between Roye and Noyon, and in the great bend of the south, where Peronne stands.” • Here was the great advance fully launched in a flowing tide which swept all before it until the armies heard the call “Cease Fire 1” on Armistice Day. Surely it was more than mere coincidence that depression was turned into triumph immediately following the National Day of Prayer. Victory was in the air from that day and forward. IV hy is it the British people have forgotten these things? Why it is that the stupendous nature of this event is not more widely known ? Must we wait again for four years before we make our national approach to God? It is essential that the initiative and leadership for this call for a National Day of Prayer should come from the State and not from the Church. It must be an official act of State. It is necessary for the Piime Minister to advise His Majesty —as Head of Church and State—to call the nation to prayer and for His Majesty to lead the Nation officially in an act of intercession before the Throne of God. We appeal to all who believe that Britain’s cause is a righteous cause to act ceaselessly in making these facts widely known. Public opinion must be mobilized so that official action is taken without delay.