In May of 1776, fighting was well under way in the American Revolution. For General George Washington, it was a stressful time. Under his command in New York, he had about seven thousand men. The rag tag army was poorly trained and struggling to stabilize in the early days. This American Army was about to face some thirty thousand soldiers from the most highly trained and successful military force in the world. The Americans were outnumbered and outgunned. As they waited in New York for the onslaught of British military power, General Washington issued orders for his troops to pray for the campaign ahead.
On May 17, 1776, Washington gave orders that the day was, “…to be observed as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, humbly to supplicate the mercy of Almighty God, that it would please Him to pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions, and to prosper the arms of the united colonies, and finally establish the peace and freedom of America upon a solid and lasting foundation.”
Washington knew that our only hope then was repentance, humility, and a sincere desire for God to establish our foundation as a people. May this Independence Day be an opportunity for us all to follow in the footsteps of our first president, to call on our God and humbly ask Him to fortify our foundation, and that above all, we would remember that God gave us our freedoms. To whom much is given, much is required.
Happy Independence Day!
Pastor Winston Parrish
