A Mighty Endeavor
"Almighty God:
...Lead them atriaght and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in thier faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the ENemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again, and we know that by your grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tired, by night and day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame.
Men's souls will be shaken by the violence of war.
For these men are lately drawn from ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy People. They yearn but for the end ot the battle, for the return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, thy Heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy... and a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almihgty God. Amen."
Wading through the salty waters of the European coast on a warm day in June, American soldiers heard this prayer spoken by Franklin D. Roosevelt over the radio broadcast as they and the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in the early hours of the day that would forever be known as D-Day.
In the many years since D-Day took place on June 6th, 1944, many survivors have told their stories and personal testimonies of what truly happened that day, their voices ringing through the now eighty-one years that have passed.
But now, many of these survivors are no longer here. Most of them have already been called home, and their voices are no longer heard over the clash and clamor of today's news topics and the overall turmoil the world is in.
The memories of their valor and courage are waning with every year that passes, as we slowly forget their sacrifice.
But still, President Roosevelt's prayer remains true even today, after all this time.
No, we are not fighting a declared war, nor are our men facing such perilous combat as they were eighty-one years ago, but there is a silent battle raging that many are fighting that goes unnoticed by most.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly places."
-Ephesians 6:12
The road that we walk is still long and hard.
The Enemy is still strong.
The Devil still lurks in the dark corners and murky shadows of our world, and we still must pray for a steadfast faith that is able to defeat him. The battle has been fought between Christ's allied troops- his followers- and the evil's ruthless demons since the beginning of time, and it will continue until Christ comes again, when the Devil will be defeated once and for all.
For this reason, we do not lose heart, for this is a mighty endeavor.
