Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
- James 5:16
And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
- Luke 22:44
He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
- Luke 18:2-5
“When British ships, carrying thirty-two thousand troops, sailed into New York, their masts tilting with the tides, they looked like a forest of trees swaying in the wind. One observer said, ‘I thought all London was afloat.’ It was the ‘largest, most powerful force ever sent forth from Britain or any nation.’
“Washington didn’t stand a chance. …
“Late on the afternoon of August 29, Washington gave the order to retreat. The escape of nine thousand weary, rain-soaked troops across a mile-wide river was a desperate gamble. If the British caught on, the entire army would be decimated. …
“Immediately the weather became an ally. A strong northeast wind kept British ships from venturing into the area; yet at about 11:00 PM the wind died down allowing Washington’s hastily assembled armada to cross the river without danger. Sympathetic New York sailors and fishermen mobilized, loading soldiers, horses, wagons, cannons, and all manner of equipment and onto boats.
“Wagon wheels were wrapped in cloth to muffle their sounds on the cobblestones and not a word was spoken. The soldiers were told not to cough or make any sounds, and orders passed through the ranks by whispers. Campfires were kept burning to deceive the enemy. …
“The evacuation occurred near the current site of the Brooklyn Bridge and has been called the Colonial Dunkirk, referring to the similar, almost miraculous evacuation of the British Army from France during World War II. The ‘fervent prayers’ of the army were answered. Thirteen years later, General Washington took the presidential oath of office at the old Federal Building in lower Manhattan, just a few moments’ walk from the spot he had stepped ashore in 1776, divinely shielded by the fog of war.”
- Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses That Made America
In my recent trip to visit the grandchildren, the oldest of them went with me to Nashville, to sell used books and games. One of the books that I purchased in return was 100 Bible Verses That Made America by Robert J. Morgan. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the birth of the USA, I thought I would do a condensed mini-series on some of these verses, four posts per week for a few weeks – maybe not all 100 verses.
Twice in a matter of months, Washington was aided by weather events. He obtained topographic advantage on Dorchester Heights in Boston when he had a clear, moonlit night and hard ground. The British planned a frontal assault with superior troops, but hurricane force winds caused the British forces to evacuate Boston instead. Washington moved his army to New York. Then, less than six months later, he found himself trapped, outnumbered nearly four to one. But then the fog rolls in in order for him to retreat.
I enjoy watching NCIS, even old reruns. Leroy Jethro Gibbs had numbered rules. Rule 39 was “There are no coincidences.” Thus, those weather events were not coincidences.
So, without those things being coincidences, how did they happen?
I like the old KJV language for such occasions. “Fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Sorry, that was the way I memorized the second half of that verse.
We can accomplish a lot with prayer, but fervent prayer means that you give your knees a workout. Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane and prayed for us. He prayed that none who were His would ever slip through His fingers (John 17). But it was the physician Luke who mentioned that he sweated blood. That is a medical condition called hematidrosis. Under extreme stress, the blood vessels near the sweat glands will leak blood.
Fervent prayer goes beyond the persistent prayer of the widow in Jesus’ parable. Fervent prayer emerges from the soul and every muscle in our bodies aches with the urgent, fervent need for prayer, and yes, fervent prayer persists.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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