The Legacy of Prayer

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

If you have read or watched anything about Corrie ten Boom, you have heard a reference to the above verse. Psalm 91 was noted as Corrie’s favorite chapter in the Bible. Its words would sustain her through the darkest part of her life and of the world. Corrie was a Holocaust Concentration Camp survivor but was not a Jew. She was a Christian, from a family that had a legacy of daily prayer for the Jewish people, God’s Chosen.

In 1844, Corrie’s great-grandfather, Willem ten Boom, started a meeting that was dedicated to praying for the Jewish people. One hundred years later, in 1944, Corrie and her family were arrested because of their love and assistance in helping Jewish people in Haarlem. Corrie lost 4 members of her family who died while in prison, including her father and sister. Corrie’s father, Casper ten Boom was quoted as saying, “God’s people are always welcome in this house.” Following her arrest, Corrie’s darkest days were ahead. If you haven’t, I encourage you to read her book, “The Hiding Place”. Corrie was not only in physical danger but spiritual danger also. It was her sister Betsie that encouraged her while they were in prison. Reminding her to forgive and to always love.

The legacy of daily prayer and walking in the Spirit is what sustained Corrie when she was starving, freezing, and fighting lice and disease. It was not a last-minute prayer breathed as she boarded the cattle cars that took her and her family to the concentration camp, but it was a daily, dedicated time in prayer. A daily prayer life before things went bad. A life lived walking “in the Spirit”. It was her family’s legacy. It was her legacy. A life lived looking to God the author and finisher of our faith.

If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest. –Corrie ten Boom—

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psalm 91:2

November 28 Pastor Julia Scott