Governor-General Quentin Bryce joined over 400 people yesterday at a prayer service for Australian defence and police personnel deployed in the some of the world’s worst trouble spots.
The service, held at St Andrew's Cathedral yesterday morning, has taken place the week before ANZAC Day for at least three years, but yesterday’s was the first to be attended by a Governor-General, senior minister the Rev Chris Moroney said.
Mrs Bryce joined Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Allan Grant (Angus) Houston, Acting Commander of the Australian Fleet Commodore Simon Cullen, and NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Carey in laying wreaths of remembrance at the service.
The President of the NSW Branch of the RSL Don Rowe, and State President of the War Widows' Guild of Australia, Diana Bland also laid wreaths, shortly before the ‘Last Post’ stirred the crowd to quiet reflection.
The overwhelming theme of the service was the power and necessity of prayer, framed by Bible readings given by Mrs Bryce (Exodus 17:8-16) and Air Chief Marshal Houston (Phillipians 4:4-13).
Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, deputy chief of the Royal Australian Navy, spoke briefly of his Christian faith, which he embraced shortly before he joined the Navy in 1974.
"The more I live, the more I need God and Jesus in my life," he said.
As he led prayers for the deployed military personnel, and for personnel serving with the Australian Federal Police, he reflected on the prayers he and his wife pray for his own role and for the defence forces in general.
Rear Admiral Thomas suggested Australians should pray for the safety of service-men and women, who are in a "dangerous business" which often puts them in "deeply distressing circumstances".
He also advised prayer for the families who are left at home, and for those who suffer from stress and anxiety caused by the demands of their roles in trouble spots such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sudan and the Solomon Islands.
Finally he asked that we pray for their ability to think clearly on the job and make wise decisions, and to avoid complacency, all the while giving thanks to God for the sacrifice many make to serve their country in this way.
As Rear Admiral Thomas also remembered those grieving for loved ones killed in service, and the doctors, nurses and chaplains who minister to servicemen and women in the field.
Dean urges prayer on '50th birthday'
As he stood up to explain why we should pray, Dean Phillip Jensen shared that he was celebrating a "birthday': yesterday was the day on which, 50 years earlier, he had accepted Jesus as His Lord and Saviour at the 1959 Billy Graham crusade.
He also reflected on the passing of Sir Marcus Loane, “a giant amongst men” who had himself served for three years in Papua New Guinea in World War Two.
Dean Jensen highlighted the significance of prayer during the "tough years for our nation" that were World War Two, when Archbishop Howard Mowll opened St Andrew’s Cathedral for prayer.
Dean Jensen asserted that the Christian message is not one of physical war, but that "the war is over, lay down your arms, all is forgiven and forgotten".
"We can never advance the cause of Christianity by going to war for Christ," he said, adding that the Christian battle was "over and done with" in the supernatural battle and victory at the first Easter.
As he encouraged prayer for those serving with the defence and police forces, Dean Jensen explained that prayer has great benefits for those who pray, and "is the great antidote to anxiety".
"Prayer gives and teaches us contentment, it enables us to deal with the things we feel impotent to deal with."
And yet, Dean Jensen asserted, prayer is not just an action that "makes us feel better".
“Jesus was quite clear that God gives in response to the prayers of his people,” he said.
"Prayer takes action that makes a difference” he said, and is a powerful way in which to help those who are in "difficult situations trying to protect the way of life that we consider to be just and fair".
Photos: Ramon A Williams
