Day 81: Praying for those living with addiction (1954)

Join with Salvationists of the Wales Division for day 81 of 150 days of prayer.

• ‘I am the Lord, your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with many good things’ (Psalm 81:10, EasyEnglish Bible). 

1954

On 25 January 1954 the famous opening words of ‘Under Milk Wood’ – ‘To begin at the beginning’ – were spoken on BBC radio by the young Richard Burton.

The play was written by Dylan Thomas. Born in Swansea, he is regarded as one of the great modern poets. He became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his death in New York City. By then he had acquired a reputation as a ‘roistering, drunken and doomed poet’, which is how he described himself. He was 39 when he died.

In a 1954 issue of The Deliverer Lieut-Colonel Madge Unsworth wrote an article called ‘Disaster Through Drink’:

‘In the Sunday closing of her public houses has South Wales a grievance or a blessing?

‘As we write, a strong effort to break this time-honoured law enacted over a hundred years ago is being made in parliament. Backed by powerful commercial interests, it is being opposed vigorously by many who feel that in this matter Wales may “know when she is well off” as the saying goes.

‘Indeed, drink has quite enough human problems and unhappiness to account for in the principality nowadays, though its effects may be more hidden from the public than of yore.

‘Not so long ago the warden of Northlands maternity home, Cardiff, kindly opened her casebook at our request… Instead of names we list alphabetically.’

There follows a list – A to O – of women who had given birth at Northlands, with a brief outline of each situation. The constant theme is that drink was a negative influence in every situation. 

Prayer

• The problem of addiction still blights our society. Pray for the Army’s addiction services that they may be a light in the darkness for those troubled with addiction to alcohol and/or drugs.
• The massive increase in easy access to online gambling sites is causing some people huge problems. Pray for the people helping those with gambling addictions.
• If you are a Salvation Army soldier thank God for the promises you made to keep away from these harmful addictions.
• Pray for those who have found The Salvation Army a place of safety from addiction.