4th and Goal Commentary - May 1, 2001
The Battle of Dunkirk
By Bill McCartney
It was 1940, and Great Britain was on the brink of surrender.
I'm Bill McCartney... It's 4TH and Goal!
In his newsletter, Dr. James Dobson shared an incredible story about
the events leading up to the famous World War II battle of Dunkirk.
In May 1940, Great Britain found itself directly behind the eight-ball.
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had marched through Norway, Denmark, Holland,
Luxemborg, Belgium and France. And now all of his military might
was trained directly on Britain. In the tiny coastal enclave of Dunkirk,
over five hundred thousand British and French troops found themselves trapped
with Hitler's armies marching directly towards them.
The British faced seemingly impossible odds. They turned to the
only source they seemed to have left: the power of prayer.
The British leaders, newspapers, and King George the Sixth issued a call
for a national day of prayer, to occur on Sunday, May 26th.
And guess what happened! Just 24 hours after the call for a national
day of prayer was issued, Hitler inexplicably called on his troops to halt
- and not just for a few days, but, until June. God had heard the prayers
of the British people and had answered them!
Guys, sometimes it can seem as though all the odds are against us.
We can feel that our situations are almost without hope. But, we
couldn't be more wrong! God will intervene and answer our prayers.
All we need to do is humble ourselves and ask Him in. We can turn
to Him and ask for guidance in the things that are deepest in our hearts.
This Thursday is the National Day of Prayer. Established by Congress
in 1952, the National Day of Prayer encourages Americans to pray for our
nation. On Thursday, let's take time to pray for our country, its
people and our leaders. To donate or to learn of local events, contact
the National Day of Prayer Task Force, by calling (719) 531-3379, or visit
the website www.ndptf.org.
I'm Coach Bill McCartney.
Source Material: John Lukacs, "Five Days in London: May 1940," (New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999).
Dr. James Dobson, Family News, May 2000.
Scripture: "He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him,"
- 1 Chronicles 5:20.
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