Sunday, May 26, 2013

Sunday Faith Post

"Thank you Lord for the men and women of our armed forces.  Protect them as they protect us.  Defend them as they defend us.  Encourage and strengthen their spirit, soul, and body in the execution of their duties and responsibilities.  May they be mentally and physically strong when required to face the challenges of combat.  Undergird them with Your spirit and might when they are called upon to endure the hardships of battle.

I pray nothing would take them by surprise, but that they would be aware of all potential aggression.  Enable them to curtail hostile actions before they start.  
Reveal to military leaders the strategies and plots that enemies would wage.  Give leaders wisdom and insight in all decisions.  May response to any aggression by enemies of this nation be swift, accurate, and effective.

Father, give our military favor with the governmental agencies of this country.  I pray our Congress would appropriate sufficient funds to keep our nation's military preeminent in the world.

Thank you Lord, for providing America with the best trained, equipped, and lead military force in the world today.  Fill them with Your saving grace and the gospel of peace, that they may be shining witnesses of Your love, in the name of Jesus
."     From Pray for Our Nation by Keith and Megan Provance

"God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it. " Daniel Webster.

Psalm 119:
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

And let them pray, Lord...those who want to.  Let them pray in the American military again.

Geeez Readers:  try not to say "Happy Memorial Day"...please say "Remember the Soldiers!"

Z

16 comments:

Z said...

an addition to my post:

I watched my fave war movie, DESTINATION TOKYO yesterday. In it, a sailor on a sub needs an appendectomy. The sailors all say THE LORD'S PRAYER before the surgery. NOBODY was offended by the prayer, nobody bitched; this is in a full length film that was popular in theaters in the late forties.
I'm thinking nobody was offended in the theater, either.
Imagine?
Nobody was telling anybody they had to believe that prayer, or say it, it was just what most people DID in those days. and, imagine? Nobody was disdainful or resentful.
Those were the days.

Z said...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/vernon-mcgarity-world-war-ii-veteran-who-received-the-medal-of-honor-dies-at-91/2013/05/25/c1395c92-c3be-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

Talk about a brave American.
Rest in Peace, Sgt McGarity. And thank you for your service.
I wonder if he prayed while he was doing these amazing things...

sue hanes said...


Remember the Soldiers.

Z - Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Ed Bonderenka said...

Watched some of Sgt York last night.
There's an American Hero that God had some influence on.
I grew up on these movies and they influenced me, I believe.
I met my son and grandson at my dad's grave last night.
My son wanted me to relate to my grandson and he some of the war experiences my dad had related to me.
My grandson has no reference point for WWII.
He has seen none of the older war movies that we have.
He's seen Pvt Ryan (remember the Christian sharpshooter who prayed for God to give him strength and guidance?), but doesn't know it's context.
I've got some work to do.

BTW: There's also The Longest Day in which the chaplains lead the troops in prayer before the landing.

Marine4ever said...

Amen, Z. A wonderful and beautiful prayer. The best gift we can give our warriors is to offer up our prayers for them.

Aye, Z... those WERE the days.

Mustang said...

America’s flag doesn’t fly because of the wind moving past it; it flies from the last breath our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines ever took in defending it.

Scotty said...

An interesting read:

Atheists In Foxholes? Not Many - And Less The More Soldiers Dislike War.

As one that has taken residence in a foxhole, my first thoughts were......well, DUH and then I pondered, how much money in, I'm sure, in the form of a grant was given to figure THIS one out!

Waylon said...

Memorial Day is also a great day to remember some Generals who were instrumental in WW II bringing about the desired results—General George Patton in Europe and General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific. Both eventually paid a price Patton with his life in a motor vehicle "accident" and MacArthur when in became apparent to him the enemies were not only those on the other side but those stabbing him in the back in Washington, he "faded away" like he was told, otherwise I believe he knew he might have faced a fatal "accident" like Patton did.

The heroes are those on the front lines not in the bureaucracy on the so-called home front.

Z said...

Sue, you, too.

Ed, good luck with your family! Yes, do tell your grandson...how nice that your son wants you to talk about your dad's experiences.
So, they pray in that film, too, huh? Think anybody in those days was so insulted and outraged that they huffed out of the theater? :-)
No, they respected it even if it wasn't their bag.

I'm proud of the avatars here today....

Marine4...so glad you liked that prayer, too.
Mustang, what an amazing image...thanks for that. I think it's very true.
Scotty...I don't quite 'get' the "whether they liked war or not" part of it but it sure is a phenomenon that should not be ignored; that people in big trouble turn to God. It's like a gift He's given all of us but we only tap into it when things get tough. Kind of a cool reason to believe He really is there.

Waylon, I'm hearing about a lot of stabbing in the back of our soldiers today, particularly the wounded ones. Thanks for that reminder.
And you are SO RIGHT about who the true heroes are.
I'd include the wives of the severely wounded.

Scotty said...

Z said: "Scotty...I don't quite 'get' the "whether they liked war or not"

It seems that they don't quite get "it" when you read the last line of the article.

In the end, the generalization that there are no atheists in foxholes may be less of an argument against atheism than it is against foxholes, the authors conclude.

Bob said...

It is an act of patriotism and love when young people step forward to defend our nation. Service to country is an honorable thing, and this is the time we annually honor those who have served and are serving in our nation's military.

Thanks to all Vets and current military people. I appreciate and honor your service.

Z said...

Scotty, thanks....I thought that, too!

Bob...Please come back for my Memorial Day post. I agree...we owe all service people such a debt of gratitude.

And I'm hearing, instead, such an unfairness to our wounded. I'm hearing of people so badly treated that they're leaving in droves...and the media's painting that as if they're not patriotic or not on with the war on terrorism.

There's a terrible story that one of my readers knows, first hand...we wanted to do a kind of exposee on it but the soldier my reader knows is scared to come forward; and he says there are hundreds like him. This particular soldier is being bullied by a very strong lesbian superior...taunted, insulted, etc. He can't do a THING and he HAS TRIED.
They want them OUT$$$$ And they're doing all they can do.

Constitutional Insurgent said...

I'm not a religious guy, but it's an inspired post for a solemn weekend. I hope all who find comfort in such words find them while remembering our Fallen.

I've done my best to remember a special few this weekend who were close to me and mine.

Blog traffic doesn't do a thing for me, so I don't particularly care about hits, but I do encourage people to meet three unbelievable Americans who I tried to do justice for, over at my blog.

I take comfort in knowing that the untold multitudes of people who frequent sites such as Z's...realize the true meaning behind this long weekend...while the rest of the sheep gorge themselves and hit the sales.

Jen said...

What a great prayer!

Always remembering those who serve...

Jen said...

Thanks for visiting today, Z.

Z said...

Jen, your blog is ALWAYS WORTH SEEING...you're such an amazing photographer.
and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my friend :-)


Const. Insurg...thank you for your service. And thanks for posting on those men our country and their families (and you) lost. They're such heroes, as are you.

I am posting something else tomorrow.........I hope you can back.