Pray Saves a Nation
How My Mum Sank the Graf Spee
How My Mum Sank the Graf Spee Video.
The Graf Spee
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George VI
Most families in Britain have stories of relatives in the World Wars. My late mother loved the Royal navy. Her father had been an able seaman in the Navy during the First World War. He had been sunk twice by torpedoes. The second time he was on board an armed merchant cruiser called HMS Avenger which was sunk in the icy waters off Iceland. He said afterwards that he never wanted to have a cold bath again.
At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 my mum was a young teenager and the newspapers were full of stories of the German heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee, commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff. This powerful ship was raiding merchant vessels in the South Atlantic. The Royal Navy sent a squadron of cruisers to chase the German ship. The Exeter, the Ajax and the Achilles. The chase across the ocean was reported daily in the papers. My mum, being basically a non-violent person, prayed that the whole thing would be resolved with as little loss of life as possible. The upshot of it all was that after a sea battle the Graf Spee entered the port of Montevideo, the capital of neutral Uruguay, to effect urgent repairs. Langsdorff was told that his stay could not be extended beyond 72 hours. Apparently believing that the British had gathered a superior force to await his departure (which wasn’t the case) he ordered for the ship to be scuttled on 17 December. Langsdorff then committed suicide two days later. Over 1,000 lives of his crew were preserved.
Since that time there has been a lot of debate about why Langsdorf scuttled his ship. Whatever the reason I believe that it was an answer to prayers by my mother and others like her.
This story and others like it have often made me wonder how many great historical events have been influenced by the power of prayer. In a recent video I noted how the fortunes of the First World War allies were at a low point in the Spring of 1918. However, when George V called a national day of prayer later in the year things immediately changed and the allies won a series of stunning victories that led to the armistice.
I am planning to do a series of videos on how prayer has influenced national events. As I am British this will mainly be about how God has, many times, intervened to save our nation from destruction. Time and again the nation has been on the brink of disaster and then something has happened to save us. I don’t believe that we saved ourselves. I believe that it has been an act of God’s grace. The prayers of ordinary people have been heard. Prayer is the tool we have as believers to influence and change events for the better.
This is what Daniel understood.
[Dan 2:20-21 KJV] 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
Ultimately, although man makes his plans it is God who rules over all.
[Psa 22:28 KJV] 28 For the kingdom [is] the LORD'S: and he [is] the governor among the nations.
Prayer Saves a Nation. Alfred the Great
Prayer Saves a Nation. Alfred the Great
Statue of Alfred the Great in Winchester, England
Æthelred as depicted in the early fourteenth-century Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England
A Victorian representation of Guthrum's baptism in 878
This is the first in a series I’m doing on how prayer influences the course of national events. A while ago I did a series on four kings who shaped the fate of their nations; Brian Boru, Kenneth MacAlpin, King Arthur and Alfred the Great
Alfred is the one I want to focus on now. Without prayer I don’t believe that he would have succeeded in his battle with the Vikings. Alfred was possibly the greatest king the English have had. His heart was for God and he desired to learn and grow in the knowledge of God. He translated many works into English including the first fifty Psalms. His biographer was a devout Welsh monk called Asser whom he invited to his court to help in the task of educating the English. Alfred was dismayed that the levels of literacy and bible knowledge were negligible in England at the time. He invited many scholarly people to his court to help him improve the level of education in his kingdom. Asser wrote this of Alfred:
“…he used to moan and sigh continually because God had created him lacking in divine learning and knowledge of the liberal arts.”
Asser likened Alfred to Solomon who sought wisdom from God. Asser tells us that he was “In the invariable habit of listening daily to divine services and Mass and of participating in certain psalms and prayers and in the daytime and night offices.” As well as translating the first fifty Psalms he translated several other religious works and drew up a law code based on biblical principles.
When Alfred came onto the scene, the north of England, the Midlands and the east of England had all been defeated by the Vikings. Wessex in the south of England was the one remaining Saxon kingdom that had not been invaded. In January 871 the Vikings invaded Wessex itself. At that time Æthelred was king of Wessex. Alfred was his younger brother. The famous Battle of Ashdown was about to commence. Alfred’s biographer, Asser, states the following:
But Alfred, as I have been told by truthful eye-witnesses, marched up swiftly with his men to the battle-field; for King Æthelred had remained a long time in his tent in prayer, hearing mass, and declaring that he would not depart thence alive till the priest had done, and that he was not disposed to abandon the service of God for that of men; and according to these sentiments he acted. This faith of the Christian king availed much with the Lord, as I shall show more fully in the sequel.
Alfred commenced the battle against the Vikings and was later joined by his brother, the king. The Christian Wessex army won the first major victory against the Viking invaders. Later in the year Æthelred died and Alfred, as his successor, became king. There were many ups and downs in the war against the Vikings after this but if the Vikings had won the battle of Ashdown they would have destroyed all opposition and England would have become a Viking territory.
Things didn’t go well for the Wessex army despite their victory at Ashdown. Eventually Alfred attempted to buy off the Danes with gold and secure five years of peace. During this period a change came over the Viking army and many of them decided to settle down and work the land. This was I believe an answer to prayer. The Vikings remained heathen but they were moving closer to a place where they would be open to Christianity.
Unfortunately after the five years was up a new Viking leader named Guthrum came on the scene who had a plan for the conquest of Wessex. Alfred tried buying the Vikings off again but this time the Vikings simply took the gold and carried on as usual. Once again the tides of war swung to and fro between the Vikings and the Christians culminating in the battle of Edington, or Ethandun. This time the Viking army was decisively beaten and chased back to their camp. Guthrum, the king of the entire Viking army was trapped in his camp at the mercy of Alfred.
Normally in war this would have been the point when the defeated double crossing Vikings were annihilated. Amazingly Alfred dealt with the situation according to real Christian principles. He invited Guthrum and the Viking chieftains into his camp for twelve days of talks. He treated the Vikings well. He entertained them and showed them Christian love. He was fulfilling the biblical injunction to overcome evil with good. At the end of the the twelve days Guthrum agreed to be baptised as a Christian and Alfred regarded him as a son. This was followed by a whole series of Viking conversions. This act of grace laid the foundation for the whole of England to eventually become a Christian nation.
England has never had another king of the stature of Alfred. He was a model of a Christian king. However, I hope to show that every time the nation has faced disaster it has been amazingly preserved by the power of prayer and Christian faith.
Prayer Saves a Nation. The Spanish Armada
Prayer Saves a Nation. The Spanish Armada
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This image is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, specifically known as the Darnley Portrait, painted around 1575 by an unknown continental artist.
The painting is The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588 by Philip James de Loutherbourg.
The painting, titled Faced with the Spanish Armada of 1588, Queen Elizabeth I Reviews Her Troops, was created by Ferdinand Piloty II in 1861.
In 1588 England knew that the Spanish were preparing to invade the country. In the early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I England became for the first time a protestant country by law. Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 and decreed that she should be deposed. Philip the Second of Spain saw it as his duty to depose her. The execution of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots in 1587, who had plotted against Elizabeth, was seen by Philip as the final act of defiance by England making war inevitable.
In fact plans for the invasion of England had been underway since 1580. The plan was to depose Elizabeth, set up the infanta (princess) of Spain in her place, restore the Catholic faith in England and bring the nation under the dominion of Rome. An army was gathered in the Netherlands under the Duke of Parma. This army was to be given safe passage across the channel by the Spanish fleet.
By the start of 1588 the whole of England was alerted to this plan. Queen Elizabeth I authorized nationwide prayers for God's protection against the "Invincible Armada," which was threatening to overthrow her Protestant reign and restore Catholicism. The whole nation realised that this was a fight for religious freedom.
There followed a series of “miracles” that saved the nation from invasion. Firstly the invasion was delayed. The Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on May 28, 1588. At the time, Portugal was under the dominion of King Philip II of Spain. The fleet, consisting of around 130 ships, initially attempted to sail in April but was forced back by bad weather and storms
The whole fleet had to put into Corunna to refit. This gave England two months respite to prepare for the inevitable invasion attempt. Lord Howard of Effingham the commander of the English fleet and the national hero Sir Francis Drake were able to assemble the English fleet in Plymouth ready to meet the Armada.
The Armada set out again on 12th July 1588. They engaged in a nine day running battle with the English fleet as they sailed up the Channel. The English ships kept their distance and raked the Spanish ships with their superior guns. The Armada eventually anchored in Calais Roads. The English caused them some panic as they sent in fire ships among the crowded Spanish galleons. Despite this the Armada continued with its mission to link up with the Duke of Parma’s army. They continued eastwards and anchored at Gravelines Sandbanks near Dunkirk where Parma was waiting.
The next miracle was that owing to a neap tide and extremely low water in Dunkirk harbour Parma’s troop transports were unable to get out of the harbour. The Armada had no army to escort. It had to engage in a gun battle with the English fleet which continued until both sides ran out of ammunition.
The third miracle was that as the Armada was heading north away from the English fleet it was struck by fierce gale which drove them up the east side of Britain and north of Scotland. Many Spanish ships were wrecked on the coast of Norway. The remainder had to sail around Scotland and many were wrecked on the west coast of Ireland. About 5,000 were lost. In contrast the English lost no ships and about one hundred men.
There was little doubt in England that the defeat of the Armada was to be attributed to almighty God.
Queen Elizabeth I delivered a Speech to the Troops at Tilbury on 9 August Old Style (19 August New Style) 1588 to the land forces earlier assembled at Tilbury in Essex in preparation for repelling the expected invasion by the Spanish Armada. Before the speech the Armada had been driven from the Strait of Dover in the Battle of Gravelines eleven days earlier, and had by then rounded Scotland on its way home, but troops were still held at ready in case the Spanish army of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, might yet attempt to invade from Dunkirk. In the speech she voiced the English conviction that their fight was a holy cause against the forces of papism. She said
…we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
After the Armada was destroyed Elizabeth ordered that a permanent monument overlooking Plymouth Sound should be engraved with the words “He blew with his winds and they were scattered”. These words reflect the biblical sentiments expressed in the Book of Job:
[Job 4:9 KJV] 9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
Commemorative medals were also struck with the same words on them. Spanish power never recovered its former glory. Two more Armadas were dispatched in 1596 and 1597 but these were also scattered by storms.
It’s worth noting that King Philip of Spain also prayed for his Armada. He was praying when his shattered fleet returned to its ports. He was seized with a stroke before the news of their return reached him and the news of their failure was brought to him on his deathbed. This just illustrates that our prayers are only answered when we pray according to God’s will.
Prayer Saves a Nation. The Battle of Waterloo
Prayer Saves a Nation. The Battle of Waterloo
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The Wellington Monument in Somerset
Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson (1758–1805), Britain's most celebrated naval commander.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington,
In 2015 I was out walking with my sister and her husband on the Blackdown hills in Somerset. We came across the Wellington memorial which is an obelisk designed to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo.
It just so happened that we were there on the 100th anniversary of the battle which had taken place on June 18th 1815. I thought this was a coincidence but then I thought that God was reminding me of this event. As if to confirm this there was at that time a report in the papers about two British Army Red Devils display team paratroopers who had a narrow escape when one soldier's parachute failed to open properly, leading his teammate to catch him mid-air. Both soldiers, Corporals Mike French and Wayne Shorthouse, were unharmed after landing in a marina in northwest England. Napoleon was known for being short and a corporal and French. The fact that these two army paratroopers had had such a narrow escape made me think of the Duke of Wellington’s comment on the Battle of Waterloo.
"It has been a damned nice thing—the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life,"
Spiritually I believe that the Lord was reminding me of this epic battle which secured peace in Europe. In fact the next fifty years after Waterloo saw the greatest period of peace and advancement in British history. The huge dark shadow of invasion had been removed and the nation was able to progress.
England, and later Great Britain were constantly under the threat of invasion from the time of the break with Rome up until the Battle of Trafalgar where the combined French and Spanish fleets were decisively beaten by admiral Nelson. It is instructive to repeat here Nelson’s prayer,
On the morning of the battle Nelson made an entry into his journal and with it the following prayer, ‘May the great God, whom I worship, grant to my country and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in anyone tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet. For myself individually, I commit my life to him that made me; and may His blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To him I resign myself, and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen.’
The Napoleonic wars lasted from 1803 to 1815. The wars originated in political forces arising from the French Revolution (1789–1799) and from the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and produced a period of French domination over Continental Europe. Britain prayed extensively during this period, treating the conflict not just as a political struggle but as a religious and existential battle for survival. Prayer was used to seek divine protection against invasion, celebrate victories, and mourn the dead. The government and the Church of England established specific days for national prayer. For instance, a form of prayer and thanksgiving was produced in November 1798 to celebrate Admiral Nelson’s victory at the Battle of the Nile.
Without going into a long history lesson the whole conflict culminated in the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The allied forces ranged against Napoleon were led by the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was an amazing general who never lost a battle. His forces had driven the French out of Portugal and Spain and had moved into France playing a big part in the surrender of Napoleon in April 1814 after his military position became untenable. This was in stark contrast to Napoleon who was responsible for a number of spectacular military disasters and deserted his army on more than one occasion when things weren’t going well.
Napoleon was sent to the Isle of Elba as part of the surrender terms. To many ordinary people in Britain he was a bogey figure, to such an extent that he was seen as a demonic, child-eating ogre nicknamed "Boney," used to terrify children into good behavior. Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba on February 26, 1815. He sailed with a small fleet and landed in Golfe-Juan on the south coast of France on March 1, 1815, beginning the period known as the "Hundred Days". He reached Paris on March 20, 1815, to regain power. Once again the whole of Europe was under threat and Wellington was called on to lead an army to deal with Napoleon once and for all.
Britain and its army prayed before, during, and immediately after the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Prayer was by this time an integral part of British military culture and civilian life. Wellington himself prayed at St. Joseph's Church in Waterloo on the morning before the battle. The battle itself is well documented elsewhere. Wellington’s army managed to withstand repeated assaults from the French until the arrival of Marshall Blucher and his Prussian forces turned the tide in the allies favour. The nation had been praying continuously for more than twenty years for its very survival. God was gracious and answered the prayers. Waterloo is remembered as a military victory. In Britain at the time it was seen as the definitive act of deliverance by God ending many years of destructive warfare.
Prayer Saves a Nation. The Final Hour and the National Day of prayer 1918.
Notice of Public Meeting published on May 2nd 1933 in several newspapers.
Order of Sevice for National Day of Prayer 4th August 1918
Guardian newspaper report on the Battle of Amiens
The Final Hour Video
Quite a while ago I did a video on the fascinating story of Arthur Ware and the final hour. The First World War ended on the 11th Day of the 11th month of 1918 at 11.00am. Some bible believers at the time believed that this was a sign from the Lord that this marked the 11th hour. I.e. there was just one more hour to go. An example of this was Mr A.E Ware, a man who worked in the motor trade in both the USA and England. In 1917 the Balfour Declaration was signed by the British Government supporting a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Mr Ware had a growing conviction that he should research the scriptures relating to prophetic events and God's End Time purposes. With a group who shared his desire to understand these things, he devoted the rest of his life to the prayerful study of biblical chronology. After constructing a complete chronology of the world from creation they calculated that the end of 6,000 years of history ( see page titled "The 7,000 Year Cycle") would end on June 12th 1933. They believed this so strongly that they took out adverts in many papers including The Times announcing a public meeting on May 2nd 1933 to warn people of the coming event. I have done a separate video on all this which I hope shows it wasn’t as crazy as it seems.
Anyway, in this video I want to look at the significance of the 11th November 1918. In March 1918 a German offensive had broken through the allied lines and the British army was brought close to disaster. A mood of depression sank over the nation. It seemed that every time the allies seemed close to success they subsequently suffered a crushing reverse. Many people in the nation noted that because ot the complete lack of national prayer God was withholding success from the nation while keeping it from total defeat. Suddenly, a change came about. A proclamation went out that there would be a National Day of Prayer on 4th August 1918.
The National Day of Prayer was led by King George V in the form of a service at St Margaret’s Church which is an Anglican parish church in the grounds of Westminster Abbey. The effects of this were amazing.
On August 8th the Battle of Amiens began which transpired to be the first of a series of brilliant victories known as the Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918). This was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial German Army back, undoing its gains from the German spring offensive (21 March – 18 July). The Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line, but the Allies broke through the line with a series of victories, starting with the Battle of St Quentin Canal on 29 September. The offensive led directly to the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended the war with an Allied victory.
The exact time and date of the Armistice was set by God. Officially the exact time was set so that there would be an orderly end to the fighting. However from a prophetic point of view this time marked the the start of the final “eleventh” hour. A sign to the world that God’s prophetic timeline was nearing its end. This is what Arthur Ware picked up on. Although his date for the return of Christ was wrong he did make a brave attempt to fit God’s prophetic calendar into the the events of his day. One thing that I find fascinating is that prophetically speaking, if 11th November 1918 marked the eleventh hour on God’s timeline then the timeline ended on the last day of the twentieth century, 31st December 2000.
If you want see how this is calculated you can see my video “The 30,000 Day Hour”. If the last day of the twentieth century did in fact mark the end of the final hour then where are we now?
I believe that starting from 1st January 2001 we are in a special period between the end of the first six thousand prophetic years of creation (which ended on 31st December 2000), but before the final thousand year millennial period. When Jesus died on the cross it marked his rejection by the Jews as their King and Messiah. If they had accepted him as their king then his rule on earth would have begun. Instead he was resurrected and ascended into heaven. This meant that there was an unusual period, which was not part of God’s prophetic timeline, when the church age had started but the nation of Israel and the temple in Jerusalem still existed. This was an anomaly. These years from about 33 AD to 70 AD, about 37 years, were not counted on God’s calendar. The years which we are living in now are those years, now counted as part of the church age, and included on God’s calendar. This is one reason why I believe we are near the end.
Prayer saves a Nation,The Battle of Britain
Prayer saves a Nation,The Battle of Britain
Allied troops waiting on the beaches of Dunkirk, France, for evacuation during World War II, specifically between May 26 and June 4, 1940.
Spitfires During the Battle of Britain
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Winston Churchill
Many people forget that in every national emergency the nation, in this case England and later the United Kingdom, has come together to pray and the prayers have been miraculously answered. Seven National Days of Prayer were called for by the King at critical times throughout the Second World War. After each one, the natural chain of events which had been occurring suddenly changed and deliverance took place. the Bishop of Chelmsford Dr H.A. Wilson wrote:
‘If ever a great nation was on the point of supreme and final disaster, and yet was saved and reinstated it was ourselves…it does not require an exceptionally religious mind to detect in all this the Hand of God.’
The first National Day of Prayer was called on 26th May 1940 when the entire British Army was trapped at Dunkirk. George VI called for a National Day of Prayer to be held. In a national broadcast he urged the people of Britain to turn back to God in a spirit of repentance and plead for Divine help. Millions of people across the British Isles flocked into churches praying for deliverance. Two events immediately followed. Firstly, a storm arose over the Dunkirk region grounding the Luftwaffe which had been killing thousands on the beaches. And then secondly, a great calm descended on the Channel, the like of which hadn’t been seen for a generation. It was only because of this Channel calm coming at this precise moment and lasting the length of the evacuation, that tiny boats were able to sail across and rescue 335,000 soldiers. Hitler was furious. Because of this sudden Channel calm people referred to what happened as ‘the Miracle of Dunkirk’.
The second and third National Days of Prayer were held during the Battle of Britain. The situation looked dire as Hitler attempted to destroy the Royal Air Force in preparation for a seaborne invasion of Britain. The days of prayer were in August and September of 1940. By September Hitler had assembled a vast armada of landing barges for the invasion. Winston Churchill knew the seriousness of the situation and on 11th September broadcast a stirring message to the nation preparing them for invasion:
‘…Every man and woman will therefore prepare himself to do his duty whatever it may be, with special pride and care….it is with devout but sure confidence that I say “Let God defend the right.”
However, the RAF had still not been destroyed. The crucial air battle on which everything hinged had still to take place. On the Sunday prior to the broadcast the nation had been at prayer. George VI had set Sunday 8th September as a National day of Prayer. There had been a tremendous national response. A crowded service was held at Westminster Abbey where the airmen were specifically prayed for. The following Sunday 15th September was the day the Battle of Britain was won. The battle raged all day from London to the coast and beyond. Every British fighter was in action. All that the RAF had was thrown into the battle against the invading German air force. By tea-time the tide had turned. There were no more waves of German aircraft coming over the channel. The German seaborne invasion, known as Operation Sea Lion, was postponed “until further notice.”
In fact the Second World War was full of miraculous acts of deliverance, too many to list here. However, the following chart illustrates the amazing results of the seven National Days of Prayer called during the Second World War.
