A Broken Man's Prayer

One of my favorite movies to watch during the Christmas time is "It's a Wonderful Life." This 1946 movie, directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, has touched more people. It isn't hard to understand why the American Film Institute has named it as the most inspiring film ever made.

The story is a simple one about life. George Bailey was a gifted dreamer who had plans to make it big and do something to change the world. However, life's situations forced George to abandon his dreams and rescue the town's Savings and Loan. He helped others without the benefit of profiting himself. One of the crucial scenes is the prayer scene where a broken George Bailey quietly asks for God's intervention.

The shot was a simple one. The script was open for interpretation. But no one expected what would take place. Jimmy Stewart took on the persona of George. He drew from his own experience in War World II and the Great Depression. He was broken. He clasped his hands, whispered his petition to God, and broke down in tears. The set crew stared in silence. There was only one take. Capra knew this shot could not be duplicated. The problem was that his camera was set for a wide angle view and not for a close up. So Capra took each of the thousands of individual frames of film and enlarged them one by one until he had the close-up he wanted.

What makes this story wonderful is that God heard and answered George's prayer. What makes life wonderful is that God still hears and answers the prayers of those who are broken before Him. Lord, "Please, Show me the way!"

March 3, 2009