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PRAYERS IN WAR TIME O LORD GOD, give courage to the men that are on the battle front to-day for thee and for humanity. O Lord God, put the tender hands of thy love upon the wounded on the field. May those who die see not the sodden field, but may they, rather, see the open gate and Him who having triumphed waits to welcome those who overcome. O Lord God, give success to the armies of our allies. We cry unto thee. We wait before thee. It seems to us that destiny is in the balance. O, we know that thou art upon the field when thou art most invisible. O Master Divine, with thy power appear unto us and undertake in behalf of this poor stricken world of ours to give wisdom unto the President of the United States, and those associated or allied with him in rule or in leadership, and give to the citizens of this nation of ours the moral persuasion of the right, and the readiness to accept the opportunity which the days bring, and may we by word and act certify our sympathy with men, and our love of Almighty God, and our readiness to obey him in the service of our day and generation. Grant unto us forgiveness for all the sins of the past, acceptance in Jesus Christ, strength for journey and task, courage for battle, and coronation after the battle is over, and the day of peace shall have come. We ask it, with a special blessing upon our own brothers, and sons, and lovers over there, in Jesus’ name. Amen. LORD JESUS, let thy blessing be upon us, we beseech thee. Tempted as we are, prone as we are to turn aside from the things that are right and true, the things that are lovely, the things that shall be compelling to conscience, and to faith. O may we ever see, even when we come to thee wearied and disappointed in ourselves, may we ever see that look of pity and of love upon the face of the Master. O blessed Master, in these days may our faith fail not, may we never, never be tempted to think that God has forgotten men; and if there ever shall come to us temptation to such a thought, may we remember that he who has seen the Son has seen the Father. Let thy blessing be upon our homes and upon sons and brothers over seas to-night, and those that stand beside them on the line of battle, standing for the good Christ, standing for this Lover of Man, and the men whom he has loved. O be with them there. Protect them, if it may so be, from harm, but if any fall upon the field, let them fall in the comfortable assurance that the Christ of the ages is smiling upon them, and that for them there waits that habitation in the city of mansions, in the homes of the overcomers. And we do beseech thee, Lord God, to grant victory to our allies, that stand for thee and for humanity. Grant thy wondrous guidance and cheer unto us every one, and lead us through the days and years until by the infinite grace of God, the tender compassion of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and the gracious ministry of the Spirit, there shall come at length that unity of believers here in which God shall be glorified, and all the world be blessed. We ask it for His name’s sake. Amen. O JESUS, Master, help us in this hour of life so to look into thy face that we may understand the meaning of thy word, the power of thy life. There are weary hearts here to-day, O blessed Master. We cannot see thee, and yet thou art not far from us, and thou wouldst have us by faith lean hard with all our burdens and all our cares upon the bosom of our Lord in this hour. We are here with our perplexities, and thou wouldst have us bring them unto thee. We are going out into the world to be tested by shadow and the darkness. We are going to be tested as we see love assaulted by revilings, as we see the very soul of truth assaulted by unrighteousness and wrong. O Master Divine, whatever others of thy disciples shall do, however boastful they may have been, however utterly disappointing they may have been, grant, O blessed Master, that our faith shall not fail. May there come no moment when we shall say, "But I do not know him." May there come no hour, whatever be the pressure laid upon us, when for gold or for honor, or for aught that earth or hell can promise us, we shall be untrue to thee. O steady us by the remembrance of thy love, by the picture of the vision in which we have been privileged to lean on thy bosom, by the recognition of thy power reaching out through all the years, help us to be true. O Lord God, we pray this day that where hearts are sorrowing and where the farewell word is spoken, somehow there may be the consciousness of divine guidance, and somehow may there come to hearts distraught the comfort of thy assured presence and love. The vision of the garden, but, O blessed Master, after the garden, the sunrise! After the betrayal and the agony of it, the glory of life, so may we through dreariest ways look forward to the dawn of the great day, and in the consciousness of our weakness as the earth trembles beneath us, in the presence of the world’s agony as the world is sobbing about us this day, may there come to us the assurance of the day dawn and the smiling heavens and the gladsome thrill of the Master. We tarry, O Lord God, to pray for thy blessing upon the nation and upon thy servant, the President of the United States, upon our army and upon our navy and upon the allied forces this day upon the battle line. O Lord God, give wisdom to those who lead, give courage to those who stand upon the battle line for thee and for humanity this day, and we do beseech thee, Almighty God, to bring in right speedily the day of victory, hastening thy abiding peace, which can rest only when right has vanquished wrong. Hasten the day, we beseech thee, and all that we ask for ourselves, for our homes and for our land and for our brothers over the seas, and for this sobbing world, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. O JESUS, Master, is it true that any heart to-day is wondering where thou art? Is it true that any life has sought to bear the burden, has sought to pursue the journey, has sought to fight the great battle, has looked around sometimes and wondered where the Master really is? O Lord of life, may there never be wanting the remembrance of thy words of tenderness, may there never, never be forgotten even in the hours that most test our faith the assurance of thy presence, of thy love, of thy power and of thy gentleness. Even in moments when our faith does not seem to see or hear, may we be still steady in our faith that thou art not far away, that thou art still living, that thou art still loving, and while faith may not seem to see to-day with that quickening of consciousness that shall lift the soul to heights of joy, may faith be without wavering and await the evidence of thy presence, even as in the moments of its testing it rests upon the certainty of thy nearness. O Master divine, quicken, we beseech thee, the faith of the nation and of the nations to-day. May the hearts that are struggling most these days grip God the more eagerly, saying again and again, "I do not see him, but I believe in him; I do not hear him, but he is not far away"; and as Captain of our salvation it shall be but a little while when we shall see his crown of authority and shall see his scepter of rule, and we shall hear him speaking to the troubled waters of our day, saying, ‘Peace, be still.’ O Master divine, whether we shall see or hear or whether we fail to see and hear in any adequate and ecstatic fashion to-day, help us to pursue the paths of life with uttermost devotion and unwavering loyalty to Jesus Christ our Lord, absolutely faithful to the trust he committed to us long time ago. When we do not see the flashing crown upon the battlefield may we be ready to adventure in his behalf and in behalf of those whom He intrusted to the strong for defense and for support. O Jesus, Master, grant that no one of us shall go to the home or to the place of business with decadent faith, faltering or shaken faith, but may we go with calm and undisturbed confidence, and may we walk with steady tread as those whom yesterday the dear Lord kissed and those whom to-morrow at the daybreak he shall greet with all the effulgent radiance of his risen glory. O Lord God, bless those who are over the seas, give to them confidence and peace of thy presence; give to those who suffer and to those who sorrow the assurance of thy compassion and love, and all the way through the shadowed days of the nation’s hour, though it be as dark as midnight, lead us through until the morning shall break and the sun shall come again. We ask for pardon for our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.
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