Day 91: Taking a leap of faith (1964)

Join with Salvationists of the Wales Division for day 91 of 150 days of prayer.

• ‘I will say to the Lord, ‘You are the strong place where I will be safe.  You are my God, and I trust in you’ (Psalm 91:2, EasyEnglish Bible). 

1964

In October 1964, Lynn (the Leap) Davies won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with a leap of 8.07 meters in the long jump. The first Welshman (born in Nantymoel) to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

The Joystrings were a ground-breaking Salvation Army pop group that had a hit record in the UK singles charts in 1964. As a young officer Lieut-Colonel Sylvia Dalziel was a member of the group, and mentions this remarkable event in the book The Joystrings: ‘On February 14th, 1964, “It’s an Open Secret” was in at number 16 – quite a Valentine’s Day gift for The Salvation Army!’ 

She also recalls a visit to Cardiff: ‘I was sufficiently recovered [from appendicitis] to join the group in Cardiff to fulfil engagements for the first weekend in October … a concert was given in the Cory Hall on Saturday evening and in a cinema on Sunday afternoon.’

Further visits to Wales followed: ‘It wasn’t long before we set off on our travels once again, this time headed for South Wales, where we played at Senghenydd, Cardiff and Newport.’

The Salvation Army had taken a mighty leap. The Joystrings were proving to be phenomenally successful, both with Salvationists and the public. However, some Salvationists were highly critical of the use of ‘pop music’ to proclaim the gospel – a leap too far in their opinion!

Prayer

• What would a leap of faith look like for you today? Ask God to help you look for an opportunity to give him glory.
• Is there something that God is speaking to you about and you haven’t shared it with anybody yet. Is today the day that you take that leap of faith?