Dailky devotion – ANZAC Day 2025
ANZAC Day 2025
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
On ANZAC Day, we pause to remember. To reflect. To honour.
Australia did not conscript soldiers to fight in the Great War—every Australian who served was a volunteer. Many were just boys, some even altering their age to be accepted. They did not go for glory. They went for mateship. For duty. For love of country.
In 1914, Australia’s male population was fewer than 3 million, yet nearly 400,000 stepped forward to fight. By the war’s end, 60,000 had given their lives and tens of thousands more bore physical and emotional scars.
By 1939, war called again. Out of a population of just 6.9 million, more than 40,000 young Australians made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II, and another 40,000 returned wounded.
In total, 102,256 Australian men and women laid down their lives across the First and Second World Wars.
One young Aussie Digger, writing from the fierce jungles where the Japanese Imperial Army threatened to invade our homeland, sent a letter home:
“I prayed a lot, I believe in prayer. I knew my parents and grandparents were praying for me so that helped me a lot. And of course, I had my mates. When you have good friends, good mates, you don’t leave them. It was a brotherhood. We got a message from Port Moresby that… we had to stay there and fight to the death. That was horrifying. I thought, ‘Well, I won’t see my family again, I won’t see Australia again.’ But I was prepared, like the rest of us, to stay there and fight to the finish.”
This ANZAC Day, may we remember not just their sacrifice, but their spirit—their courage, their selflessness, and their deep sense of duty. May their example challenge us to live with similar resolve in our walk with Christ.
Their sacrifice secured a freedom we must never take for granted—a freedom that allows us to gather, to pray, and to worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ without fear or persecution.
Let Us Pray
Almighty God,
As we remember those who fought and died,
May we be reminded of their courage and sacrifice—
In the cause of justice, peace, and freedom.
Each time we gather in the house of the Lord,
Let the memory of the fallen inspire us:
To cherish what they fought for,
To guard it fiercely,
And to live in a way that honours their legacy.
GOD BLESS AUSTRALIA.
This we pray, in Jesus’ name—Amen.