Luke 22:46
And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
- DAILY READING Acts 8:26-40; Joshua 1-2; Job 21
It is probably the most famous surprise attack in history. On December 7, 1941, without warning, Japanese planes began attacking the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. Men aboard U.S. ships awoke to the sounds of alarms, bombs exploding, and gunfire. Bleary-eyed men, waking out of sleep, jumped off their bunks, dressing in a hurry as they ran to General Quarters stations.
The U.S Navy had been caught completely off guard. They were not at all prepared for this battle. In fact their ammunition stores were still locked, guns unmanned, aircraft parked on the ground, wingtip to wingtip.
As Japanese airplanes pounded the base, American military, quickly recovering responded effectively with what weapon they could. But the Japanese having the element of surprise on their side, wielded the upper hand. The U.S Naval Commander-in-Chief at the base , hurriedly dispatched to all major navy commands and fleet units, the now famous message “Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is not drill”. However help could not come in time until the attack was over.
In less than three hours the Japanese had accomplished their mission and departed, leaving behind devastation. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. It completely destroyed their battleships, sinking a total of twelve ships and damaging nine others. 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others damaged.
American radio stations interrupted regular broadcasts to make the tragic announcement. News of the attack took the country by surprise. The next day the American President made the official announcement; The U.S. had declared war on Japan. This would be America’s entrance into world war 2, where eventually along with its other allies, they would win the war.
The battle of pearl harbor in many ways resembles the battles of life we sometimes face. Often times these battles come suddenly without warning. It could start with a phone call, a knock at the door, a routine medical test, a message in your mail; suddenly everything seems to go haywire.
Ephesians 6:13 says ‘Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’
This is talking about the day of battle. There is no one on earth who does not face battles. It is part of life. To survive and thrive in that day, you must live ready. At the alarm of war , there may be no time for preparation. It is the reserve of power you already have that will pull you through. You must be ready long before the fight. That is the way to be victorious. And this reserve of power is built through maintaining a fervent altar of prayer. Jesus asked us to rise and pray lest we enter into temptation. A lifestyle of daily fellowship with God, will ensure you don’t fall in the day of temptation. Daily fellowship with God, is daily building up your spiritual muscles. When you Study the bible, fast and pray, what you are doing is building up your reserve of strength. A day will come when you will need it. You may not know the day of the fight, but when you live ready you can be sure of victory.
Another crucial lesson we can learn is to heed spiritual warnings. The disaster at Pearl Harbor is seen as the single worst intelligence failure in U.S. history, because, amazingly, the U.S navy ignored the many signs that could have alerted them of an impending attack. For instance, that very morning, an American battleship , the USS Ward, located an unidentified submarine lurking at the harbor’s mouth. American radar operators even detected the Japanese warplanes as they approached Pearl from the north. Yet all these warnings went unheeded.
Spiritually, one of the strong signs of an impending attack is if our fire and fervency seems to be going down. Low fire is indication that we are low on oil and so should refill. The enemy strikes most when you are spiritually weak. It is while men slept or were spiritually weak, that the enemy sowed tares. But when we watch and pray the thief is unable to break in to steal. We must keep our loins girded and our lights burning. The 5 foolish virgins began to run helter skelter at midnight because they had no reserve of oil. To avoid panicking and being caught off guard, keep oil always reserved in your vessel.
The ability to stand strong in faith, declaring God’s Word without shifting , is our guarantee of victory. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. We must therefore, Spend enough time in The Word digging a deep foundation so that no matter the storm or wind that comes, our house will never fall.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to always maintain a lifestyle of spiritual fervency, help me to live ready, may my fire never go down or go out, and may I always be prepared to react by faith to any challenge that comes my way. By your grace, grant me victory in every battle in Jesus Name. . .
quote :
The battle you are faced with today is a good warfare because God has already foreordained a victorious end for you.- WORDBITE 222.
[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]