March 1943
COMMUN ICAT ION IN W A R TIME One carrier pigeon in World-War. I bore a message on which hinged the d e f e n s e of Verdun. The story of "Pigeon No. 183/14 A F" is told by Sydney Moorhouse in NATURAL HIS TORY. Explaining that military com munications by carrier pigeon were usually sent in duplicate, in case one of the birds should be shot down, Mr. Moorhouse tells of there being but one pigeon left with Major Raynal, de fender of Fort Vaux, whose position was worse than precarious. By this one bird, his only possible link with his army's headquarters, the Major sent this message: "We still hold out, but are undergoing a dangerous gas and smoke attack. It is urgent to relieve us. This is my last pigeon." Of the result, Mr. Moorhouse writes graphically: "Through an atmosphere thick with the yellow , and . green of poison gas, an atmos- phere through which no air plane could penetrate, and with shells continually burst- ; ing around, the bird made its way to clearer air and then sped for headquarters. With- . in c&i hour relief was on its way, and only just in time. - "Verdun was saved! "It has since been said that the defense of Verdun saved the war. If this ig so, then pigeon 183/14 A F was one ot ' the heroes of the war. And, appropriately enough, at Ver dun itself is a plaque com- - memorating this epic flight."* In all the confusion and menace, of spiritual conflict, the Christian today has a sure link of communication with "Headquarters." The very succor of God Himself may be obtained through a quick, sincere cry of a believer who earnestly pleads, by faith, the precious blood—the atoning death—of Christ as his basis for being heard. Let us be sure we know how to use our means of communication!
, 9
Big Business Says—It Pays I T COST ONE of the great telephone companies of our nation approxi mately $30,000,000 to keep its sys
Daniel, exiled from Jerusalem in a heathen court, paid the price of per sistent prayer for “three full weeks” (Dan, 10:2) and was rewarded by the Lord’s word of encouragement: “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself be fore thy God, thy words were heard, and. I.am come for thy words” (v. 12). There followed an explanation of the Satan-inspired spiritual opposition which had. hindered the answer to prayer. Next came Daniel’s triumph ant testimony concerning the heaven ly messenger, “And when he had spoken unto me,. I was strengthened, and said, Let m y Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me” (v. 19). * . The problem Daniel faced is not without parallel in the life of the tele? phone repair men, for these workers often must show real perseverance in
tem in proper repair during one year. This amount was paid willingly by the organization and its subsidiaries in order to keep communication un broken tor the salre of the users of 2,233,684 telephones. - The Christian must pay, too, to keep prayer communication in repair. What does this cost, involve? For one thing, the Christian must pay the price of allowing ho barrier tc>f sin to block the way: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psa. 66:18). Telephone repair men know that their vigilance may be the means of saving life. And when eter nal life and death of needy souls hang upon the Christian’s ability to “pray through” 'on an instant’s notice, the way must! be keot clear.
•Natural History, May, t9i0, p. 303. Used by permission o f the publishers .
their struggle against adverse con ditions. And whole-heartédness, the willingness to be “ bringing into cap tivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) is ah impor tant part of the cost of maintaining p r a y e r communication with God. “ Casting down imaginations, and : [Continued on Page 1191 - '
Made with FlippingBook HTML5