And Then They Prayed. Barry Loudermilk
soldiers currently fighting in battlefields around the world, Americans have regularly implored Divine assistance in our national undertakings. The extraordinary results of these prayers and their impact on the course of this nation have been well recorded throughout our history. However, these fascinating stories that were once quite commonly known among Americans have, for the most part, been forgotten. Stories that were once prominent in our school textbooks have been removed due to their references to God. As a result of this censorship, these inspiring and true events that shaped our nation have been nearly purged from our national remembrance.
Fortunately, America is experiencing a resurgence of interest in our history, as citizens across this land desire to be reunited with their true heritage.
This book tells the incredible stories of thirteen miraculous events in American history that were impacted by prayer. Over a decade of extensive research has been done to ensure the accuracy of these stories. When possible, firsthand accounts of those who witnessed these incredible events have been cited.
I pray that, as you read this book, you will not only become reunited with our providential heritage, but you will also be inspired by the character of these men and their unwavering dedication to God and Country. From the freezing forests of Valley Forge, to the deadly vacuum of space, Americans have fought when their liberty was threatened, stood firm in the face of danger, conquered a fear of the unknown, prepared for battle and then, they prayed.
Barry Loudermilk
A Prayer That Saved A Nation
Benjamin Franklin (1787)
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
Psalm 127:1
The room was crowded, the air was hot, and so were the emotions of the fifty-five men assembled in the chambers of the Philadelphia State House. It was late June, 1787 and the sweltering summer heat further stoked the fiery tempers of the delegates as they engaged in heated debate. Twelve of the thirteen states had sent some of their most respected citizens to represent their interests at this Convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation had been the governing document of the United States since the Revolutionary War; and, while these documents had served the needs of the states during the conflict with England, they had proven to be inadequate in governing the expanding post war nation and were in great need of revision. Rhode Island’s legislature refused to participate in the Convention out of concern that the members would be too tempted to abandon the Articles and create a new government. Rhode Island’s fear of this assembly “making innovations on the rights and liberties of the citizens at large,” appeared to be coming true, as the Convention had, by this time, abandoned revising the Articles of Confederation and was now debating the formation of a new government; a Constitutional Republic.
The sights, sounds and smells of the old State House Chambers were all too familiar to some of the Convention’s delegates, as they had assembled here many times before. Eleven years earlier, some of these same men stood in this very room when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution declaring independence from Great Britain.
During the war for independence, except for a short time the British occupied Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress met in the State House Chambers. Throughout this period, these men, whose primary allegiance had always been to their own colonies, were suddenly united by a common cause; freedom from tyranny. Patrick Henry, a fiery orator from the Virginia legislature and a member of the First Continental Congress, expressed this unusual unifying spirit when he declared, “I am not a Virginian but an American.”
Throughout the war with England, the members of the Continental Congress regularly prayed for God’s divine protection. They prayed openly as a delegation and privately as individual citizens. They knew that their only hope for victory rested in the powerful hand of God, and they were neither embarrassed nor ashamed of their reliance on His Divine power. To ensure the world and future generations understood their dependence on God’s protection, they included such a statement in the Declaration of Independence. The final sentence of the Declaration expresses the unity and dedication of these brave men, “And in support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
Eleven years had now passed since the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed. These brave men, who held a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence, had succeeded in their quest for liberty and won their independence, but now they faced the hardships and struggles of building an independent nation.
They needed a government that would protect and serve these thirteen independent states. However, unlike the Continental Congress who assembled here, this Convention seemed to lack the unifying spirit enjoyed during the Revolution. These men were attempting a significantly more difficult and challenging task, to solidify these independent and sovereign states into a single nation. Their goal, as they would later define, was to create a government structured unlike any the world had ever seen, a government that would be described nearly a century later by President Lincoln as a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
In previous Conventions, each delegation represented an independent and sovereign government working with other independent and sovereign governments toward a common goal that had equal benefit for each. Although there were debates, and an occasional argument, most Conventions had been relatively calm and productive. This time, however, the fear that one state might have more influence in the national government than another, coupled with their passion to protect the sovereignty of their individual states, ignited the delegates’ emotions. Debates, which far too many times resulted in all out verbal battles between delegates, were threatening to bring a disastrous end to the Convention. In fact, part of the New York delegation, frustrated by the bitter fighting and the lack of progress, had packed up and returned home.
The eventual product of this Convention, the Constitution of the United States of America, would be such a carefully crafted, uniquely structured and significantly limited form of self government, that it would appear to some to be Divinely inspired. From the perspective of an outside observer, one would assume the handiwork of the delegates was the result of years of cooperation and coordination. In reality, the fact they even completed the Convention and emerged with any type of agreement or governing document, was a miracle in itself. The document they eventually drafted and passed was indeed miraculous, especially considering that when they first convened they had not intended to create a new government, only to revise the Articles of Confederation.
The Constitutional Convention, as it would come to be known, had been in session for nearly five long and mostly unproductive weeks; and, from all appearances, this would possibly be the final week. So far, little progress had been made because the delegates were deadlocked on many issues, with the most prominent being how each state should be represented in a new national government. The fighting became increasingly bitter with each session, as northern states argued that representation should be based solely on population, while the southern agricultural states argued that representation should be based on the amount of cultivated land. The representation issue also sparked arguments between small and large states. Small states demanded there be a fixed number of representatives from each state regardless of size or population. All sides were firm on their convictions and none were willing to compromise.
At the beginning of the Convention, George Washington had been unanimously elected to serve as President of the Convention, in hopes that the respect all delegates held for this hero of the Revolution would create a sense of unity. It was the dignity and the statesmanlike demeanor of the former General that was responsible for holding the Convention together thus far, but even Washington wondered how much more quarreling they could withstand before more delegates headed back to their home states.
Washington, through a letter writing campaign, had been one of the primary reasons this Convention had taken place.