On February 2, 1984, President Ronald Reagan spoke at the Annual
National Prayer Breakfast in the International Ballroom at the
Washington Hilton Hotel.
After greeting the assembly which
included many U.S. Senators and Representatives, President Reagan said:
"In a world today that is so torn with strife where the divisions seem
to be increasing, not people coming together, within countries,
divisions within the people, themselves and all, I wonder if we have
ever thought about the greatest tool that we have -- that power of
prayer and God's help."
"This power of prayer," continued
President Reagan, "can be illustrated by a story that goes back to the
fourth century." Then he told about a monk that lived during the 4th
century by the name of Telemachus. Telemachus had been living in a
little remote village, spending most of his time in prayer or tending
the garden from which he obtained his sustenance, when he, because he
believed it to be God's will, went to Rome.
When Telemachus
arrived in Rome, President Reagan explained:
It was at a time of
a festival in Rome. They were celebrating a triumph over the Goths. And
he followed a crowd into the Coliseum, and then there in the midst of
this great crowd, he saw the gladiators come forth, stand before the
Emperor, and say, "We who are about to die salute you.'' And he realized
they were going to fight to the death for the entertainment of the
crowds. And he cried out, "In the name of Christ, stop!" And his
voice was lost in the tumult there in the great Coliseum.
And as
the games began, he made his way down through the crowd and climbed over
the wall and dropped to the floor of the arena. Suddenly the crowds saw
this scrawny little figure making his way out to the gladiators and
saying, over and over again, "In the name of Christ, stop." And they
thought it was part of the entertainment, and at first they were amused.
But then, when they realized it wasn't, they grew belligerent and angry.
And as he was pleading with the gladiators, "In the name of Christ,
stop!" One of them plunged his sword into his body. And as he fell to
the sand of the arena in death, his last words were, "In the name of
Christ, stop."
And suddenly, a strange thing happened. The
gladiators stood looking at this tiny form lying in the sand. A silence
fell over the Coliseum. And then, someplace up in the upper tiers, an
individual made his way to an exit and left, and others began to follow.
And in the dead silence, everyone left the Coliseum. That was the last
battle to the death between gladiators in the Roman Coliseum. Never
again did anyone kill or did men kill each other for the entertainment
of the crowd.
One tiny voice that could hardly be heard above the
tumult: "In the name of Christ, stop!" It is something we could be
saying to each other throughout the world today. *
Peace. That's
what we need in the world today. Peace between countries, peace within
countries, peace in our homes, peace within each of us, and even peace
with God.
That's why God sent His Son into the world: that we may
have peace with God (Romans 5:1-2), peace with others (cf.
Ephesians
2:13-22) , and peace within ourselves (Philippians 4:6-7).
It all
begins with having peace with God. It is our sin that separates us from
God (Isaiah 59:1-2), but Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for
our sins so that we can be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
God will forgive and give eternal life to those who place their
faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in
repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10),
and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of their
sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse from sin those who
continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
"In the
name of Christ, stop!" Stop fighting against God and one another.
Surrender and submit to the will of God, and then share His grace with
everyone around you.
Won't YOU?
What's Needed Today
Today's Bible Verse:
"We are confident that God listens to us if we ask for anything that
has his approval." (1 John 5:14 GW)
What's Needed Today
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