Anonymous

Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights.

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me! — Psalm 66:20, Anonymous, written after a great victory in battle (according to The Living Bible NIV translation)

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do great things,
I was given infirmity that I might do better things,
I asked for riches that I might be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
I was given life that I might enjoy all things,
I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.”  — Anonymous (Tuley, p. 58)

Perhaps you have read this before—and not realized that it was attributed to an unknown Confederate soldier wounded and disabled during the Civil War. When reading it again in one of my favorite devotional books, Battlefields and Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the Civil War, I wanted to know more about it—perhaps there was a “story” behind its author which I could share. I researched what little else I could find about the prayer . . . .and the only other additional information I found was a different account which said that the writing was discovered in the uniform pocket of a Confederate soldier who was killed in battle.

Whether it was written by the soldier, or carried by the soldier—we don’t know. He is “Anonymous.” Maybe the day will come in which I will receive more definitive information on it which I can then pass along to you. But I find beauty and power in the common story of this soldier’s prayer—no matter the circumstances. The truth contained in this profound writing is timeless and universal. God knows what we need—and answers our prayers in ways which may confound us, and comfort us. While this soldier may be unknown to us, he was and is well-known and well-loved by God, who was with him as he fought and struggled.

The eternal impact of this unknown soldier’s prayer reminds me of the Book of Psalms—about two-thirds of which are attributed to a named author and the other one-third are “anonymous.” When we do not know the writer or exact history of a psalm, we are left to imagine what it is that the author is feeling or facing—and how he is reaching out to God for strength, comfort, justice, mercy, forgiveness, grace, healing, blessing, guidance, wisdom. We can reach into our own “story”—our own life circumstances—and know that just as God was faithful in the past (both for the psalmist and for ourselves), He is faithful in the present and the future.

I recently found a devotional book published in 1942 specifically for soldiers going off to World War II, entitled Strength for Service to God and Country. It was edited by Chaplain Norman E. Nygaard who compiled the 365 short writings from pastors all over the country. His hope and purpose was to share inspirational thoughts and prayers to help these brave men and women prepare for battle. The entry for March 13th is entitled “Read the Bible” and was written by Rev. Hugh Elmer Brown of Evanston, Illinois. I found his words to be particularly thoughtful: “For cleansing, for comfort, and for command, the Bible has no equal. It is the moral radium of the world. It is Everybody’s Book. Put your ear to it and you hear universal man as he sobs and sings, as he sighs, swears, and supplicates. Coffins and cradles, glories and glooms, comedies and tragedies, all the ups and downs of human experience are in the Bible.”

God loves you. He loves your family. To Him you are well-known and well-loved. You are not “anonymous” to Him. He loves you so much that He sent His own Son to die on a cross for you (John 3:16). The Bible says that He knows you so well that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:30) He wants to strengthen you and teach you, especially during this deployment—just as He did this courageous soldier over one hundred and fifty years ago. Read this soldier’s prayer. . . . .read the Bible. They are written about you, and for you.

Work Cited:

Nygaard, Norman E., editor, Strength for Service to God and Country (Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1942)

Tuley, Terry, Battlefields and Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from The Civil War (Chattanooga: Living Ink Books, 2006)

Questions to Share:

1. What does the soldier’s prayer say to you during this deployment?

2. In what ways do you know that the Bible was written for you?

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