An Appeal to Heaven

I am pretty sure that if you ask any grade school student in the United States of America who George Washington was you would hear an enthusiastic response – “President! Our first President.” Of course, that answer would be correct. However, in this article, we are focusing on another title – that of General. Before George Washington was President, he was a General.

General Washington was already a proven soldier before he became leader of the Continental Army. This was during the American Revolution. British citizens, escaping religious (and other) persecution in England, had bravely sailed to the “New World” seeking to colonize the area and enjoy freedom of religious expression and new opportunities to prosper. However, British rule continued to reach its long arm across the Atlantic Ocean putting increasing pressure on the Colonists with unfair taxation, confiscation and loyalty tests. The Colonists eventually rebelled against the unjust rule and banded together to, once again, secure their freedom from England. Their inspiring and surprising victory would result in winning freedom from British rule and the birth of our God-blessed nation – AMERICA!

In October of 1775 , General Washington, at his own expense commissioned six sailing vessels to be built to help with the war efforts. At no time during the Revolutionary War did it appear reasonably possible that the fledging, American nation could outwit, out man or outlast the, mightily-superior in-every-way, British troops. BUT…GOD!! Yes, God. General Washington knew that the hope for our nation lay in a strategic alliance with the God of Heaven! Thus, he ordered each of the six new ships, our first Navy vessels, to display the flag at the top of their masts.

Both the initial inclusion of the pine tree on the flag and the flag’s position at the highest point on the ships’ masts were deliberate and significant. Again, most students are familiar with The Boston Tea Party – a local rebellion where highly anticipated shipments of tea from England had arrived in the Port of Boston only to be thrown overboard rather than pay the extreme import taxes being demanded by the British. What is much less commonly known is that the British were also helping themselves to important assets the Colonists had discovered in their new land. One of those assets was the Eastern white pine.

These pine trees grew to great heights; some reaching as high as 150’. The British coveted the trees for many reasons but especially to be used for the center masts on their sailing ships. So, General Washington commanding that the flags be flown from the top mast of his Naval ships was a double signal to the enemy. First, that the Appeal to Heaven was for God’s intervention in an otherwise hopeless situation and, secondly, that the God-given wealth of the new nation was not to be stolen.

We all know the “end” of the story. General Washington’s men fought the Battle of Yorktown (Virginia) in 1781 defeating British General Cornwallis’ troops which brought an end to military conflict. It wasn’t until 1783 when the United States was finally recognized as a free and sovereign nation.

Now, over 200 years later, God has prophetically brought George Washington’s flag back into National (as well as international) focus. Dutch Sheets (Dutch Sheets Ministries) has written a book, An Appeal to Heaven, that God is using to get His message out and remind us of both our privilege and need for prayer – intercessory prayer – inviting Divine Intervention into the most pressing “conflicts” of our day. Dutch’s story of how God brought the Appeal to Heaven flag to his attention is a really exciting story of how God still talks to his prophets/people today. Google it and see for yourselves!

SO, our brief history lesson complete, let’s move on to following in the footsteps of General Washington and make our own Appeals to Heaven!

Websters Dictionary and Dictionary.com both say that an “appeal” or a “plea” is a serious or urgent request most likely made publically. Websters says the application or appeal is to a recognized authority. I think we’ve got both covered – we are appealing to the God of the Universe and joining together with other children and young people around the world to make our request/appeals known. “Recognized authority/public appeal!”

Our World Shapers Club September calendar is An Appeal to Heaven calendar!

PRAYMORE!