Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The "Big Ben Silent Minute."

Apparently, there’s a rumor spreading across the internet (& what else is new?). I didn’t get the email, but learned of it through a friend today. She showed me a sheet of paper, & with a sparkle in her eye she said, “This is what we need to be doing! It worked for Churchill in World War II. Why couldn’t it work here & now?”

So, she handed me a printed copy of an email that you can fact-check by searching one of those fact-checker-type-sites. Truthorfiction.com has a thing or two to say about this one, and so does history: it was called the “Big Ben Silent Minute”.

The paper that my friend so excitedly gave me reads as follows:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves & pray, & seek my face & turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, & will forgive their sin & will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

During WWII, there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people to drop what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour for one minute, and to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people & peace. This had an amazing effect, as bombing stopped.

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. The USA & our citizens need prayer more than ever!

If you would like to participate: Each evening @ 9:00 pm EST, 8:00 pm Cent., 7:00 pm Mtn., 6:00 pm Pacific, STOP whatever you are doing & PRAY for one minute. PRAY for the safety of our country, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world. PRAY for wisdom & courage for our leaders, & the up-coming election. PRAY that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land, & that Christianity will grow in the United States of America. If you know anyone who would like to participate, please pass this along.

Tell God how big your storm is; then remind the storm how big your GOD is!

Regardless of the fact-checkers' details, the premise is sound, & I believe the British were really onto something. So now is my friend. The “Big Ben Silent Minute” worked, friends. The chimes are tolling for us & the clock is ticking. How will we respond? Tomorrow night, 9:00, please join me.

~~~

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a Wikipedia article on The Silent Minute - maybe you should link to it?

Susannah said...

VERY good idea! I guess I use my handy little 'create a link' tag at the bottom of comments?

dinah said...

This idea is growing - in America it's been established on a site called 'Minute of Prayer' and in the UK there's a site called 'The Silent Minute' - and so let's all join in with this and bring about real change, with each of us bringing ever more light into this dark world.

Anonymous said...

The book telling the true story about this (in 1943) has now been republished, selling on Amazon, and is called 'The Big Ben Minute'. It tells how this silent minute for prayer came into being during WWII on BBC radio at one minute to nine every evening, as requested by the King and Winston Churchill ...