Judges 7:7 “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.”
Patton’s Training Letter 5 was delivered between December 12th-14th, 1944. It had “the approval, the encouragement, and the enthusiastic support” of Patton himself. It provided a powerful focus “on the importance of prayer” to chaplains and commanders. The letter included the following:
“Those who pray do more for the world than those who fight; and if the world goes from bad to worse, it is because there are more battles than prayers. ‘Hands lifted up,’ said Bosuet, ‘smash more battalions than hands that strike.’ Gideon of Bible fame was least in his father’s house. He came from Israel’s smallest tribe. But he was a mighty man of valor. His strength lay not in his military might, but in his recognition of God’s proper claims upon his life. He reduced his Army from thirty-two thousand to three hundred men lest the people of Israel would think that their valor had saved them. We have no intention to reduce our vast striking force. But we must urge, instruct, and indoctrinate every fighting man to pray as well as fight. In Gideon’s day, and in our own, spiritually alert minorities carry the burdens and bring the victories.”
American Christians have lost ground because we have battled more than we have prayed. We have demonstrated ourselves as spiritually asleep instead of spiritually alert. While we shouldn’t give up the fight going forward, we should pray as we fight. In that way, we can smash far more battalions than battling can alone.
PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO PRAY AS WE FIGHT FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IN OUR COUNTRY. Even if we are a minority, if we are spiritually alert we can carry the burdens and bring about the victories.
SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that college students would sign a petition to repeal the First Amendment), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)! http://freebeacon.com/issues/yale-students-sign-petition-to-repeal-first-amendment/
