In the years following World War II, Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983) travelled to different countries to share her story. She travelled to Canada on a number of different occasions.[1]
On one such trip to Ontario, ten Boom prayed a life changing prayer for my dad.
Corrie ten Boom at St James, Kingston, 1963
In 1963, Corrie ten Boom came to St. James Anglican Church in Kingston, Ontario, to offer a series of talks. The minister of St. James was Desmond Charles Hunt (1918–1993), an important evangelical Anglican.[2]
My Grandmother, Irene Cleland, was a notable leader in the church. In the church’s history, it is mentioned that she was “the first woman representative from St James’ at synod…. Once in synod, she in turn spoke strongly in favour of encouraging the growth of women’s Bible study groups in Kingston churches.”[3]
Following one of ten Boom’s sessions, my dad remembers, my grandmother was talking to ten Boom by the front of the church. At one point, my dad came up to join them. He would have been sixteen at the time. Ten Boom paused from her conversation with my grandmother, and, looking at my dad, asked him a probing question:
“And you, young man, when did you become a Christian?”
My dad quickly retorted, stating something to the effect of:
“I am not a Christian, lady, I just go to church so that I can play on the hockey team.”
At this remark, as the story goes, ten Boom grabbed my dad by the ear and brought him from the front of the church building all the way up to the altar. Then she stopped and prayed:
“Lord, save this boy!”
An Answered Prayer
Following the event of this unforgettable prayer, my dad was left as he was — someone estranged from God. But that does not mean the prayer was not answered. It was. But it would not be then, but twenty years later.
As a manager and owner of a small general store outside of Bon Echo Park in Cloyne, Ontario, a series of events would lead to my mom’s rededication to Christ and eventually my dad’s conversion. It was in Cloyne that God changed his life through the prayers of my grandmother, mom, and their local Free Methodist church. Ten Boom’s prayer was answered; and so were the prayers of many others.
The thing that is so interesting to me about this story about ten Boom is not so much that a now famous woman had such an outstanding interaction with my dad as a teenager. Although from a historical perspective, that really does interest me. Instead, what stands out to me is how my father, now in his late 70s, remembers this account with ten Boom so vividly. It is a memory that has become central to his faith story. Yet it is a story that, at the time, was probably seen by him as little more than an uncomfortable moment.
Today, however, my dad sees this account as an integral spiritual encounter in his life. He can reinterpret this event through the eyes of his faith. When the world might see a stubborn young man and a bold Dutch woman in her 70s, my dad sees the way that God was miraculously working in his life before he even understood it. “Lord, save this boy!” A prayer of ten Boom, my grandmother, my mother, and many others.
Prayer And the Spiritual Interpretation of the Past
This story of my dad, and the way he recounts it, reminds me of Augustine’s account in The Confessions where Augustine speaks about his mom, Monica, praying for his salvation. The Confessions is ultimately a prayer to God, whereby Augustine recounts the events of his life from his vantage point of faith. He looks back on his life up to that point with a spiritual lens.
At one point in The Confessions, Augustine recounts a time he left his mother in Carthage to go to Rome. Monica wanted Augustine to stay, but he departed nonetheless. Reflecting on this event, he writes, “During the night I secretly set out; she did not, but remained behind, praying and weeping. What was it, my God, that she sought from you with so many tears, except that you would not let me sail away. But in your deepest counsels you heard the crux of her desire: you had no care for what she then sought, so that you might do for me what she forever sought.”[4] Although her immediate prayer that Augustine stay in Carthage was not answered, her ultimate prayer, the prayer she “forever sought,” would be answered. Eventually, through the faithful prayers of his mother, God would save Augustine.
“Lord, Save This Boy!”
All of us would do well to spiritually reflect on our past and think about the many Christians who have prayed for us and for our salvation. God uses the prayers of the faithful to bring about his purposes, and we should be thankful.
But more than being aware of the prayers that have been said for us, these accounts should also encourage us to be resolved in our prayers for the salvation of others. Who knows how God might use a prayer said today in somebody’s future? Although we often want immediate answers, they do not always come. God may save the person you are praying for. But it may not be today, or tomorrow, or even this year; only God knows how that prayer will be used.
“Love, save this boy!”
The Lord can save, and he does save, and he answers our prayers in doing so. Let us be faithful in remembering the prayers of those who have gone before us, and may we be faithful in praying for those who come after.
[1] For a timeline of Corrie ten Boom’s trips to Canada, see Pam Rosewell Moore, Life Lessons from The Hiding Place: Discovering the Heart of Corrie Ten Boom (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2004), 213–218
[2] I am thankful to Margaret Beardall for providing me with this information in an email sent to Jon Cleland on June 26, 2022. Beardall mentioned that she attended these talks.
[3] David Lyon, Living Stones: St James’ Church, Kingston 1845–1995: From Stuartville to Queen’s Campus (Kingston, ON: Quarry Press, 1995), 122.
[4] Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine, trans. John K. Ryan (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1960), 5.8.15., p. 84.
