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21st Melbourne Prayer Breakfast

As Marina Prior concluded a magnificent bracket of items by singing a duet Let this be our prayer with Kane Alexander, guests rose to their feet in a standing ovation amid prolonged applause.

No this wasn’t the opera or a concert it was the 21st Melbourne Prayer Breakfast and the 1100  people who filled the Melbourne Convention Centre were fittingly rewarded for being there at 7am on Friday 29 October.

The crowd was then further blessed by the testimony of Margaret Court the only tennis player in the world, male or female, ever to win 64 major tournaments and founder of Victory Life Centre, a Western Australian church with an average Sunday attendance of 1300 people.

The morning began with a welcome by MC Murray Baird, senior partner of Moores Legal and the singing of the National Anthem. The opening prayer was led by Richard Whaley of Prison Fellowship and the Scripture, Genesis 1:26-31 was read by Chris Pearce MP Member for Aston.

The prayers for government, business and industry leaders were led by legal recruitment consultant Anne Winckel. The prayers for media, the arts and entertainment and medical services were led by Ernie Sigley host of the highest rating afternoon radio program in Australia. Prayers for education institutions, teachers and students were led by Year 11 student at Presbyterian Ladies College Anneliese Willems and included a prayer for the Year 12 exams which were beginning that morning. The prayers for community leadership and caring for the disadvantaged were led by Ian Pope, Swimming Coach of the Year 2003 and 2004 and coach for the 2000 Olympic Team in Sydney.

Margaret Court was introduced by Stan Nicholes who trained athletes for 60 years including Herb Elliot and Frank Sedgeman as well as Margaret, and pioneered weight training. He broke many weight lifting records and is a Member of the Hall of Fame for his contribution to sport.

He said that Margaret had both character and dedication and went from being “a thin little thing” to one of the strongest and fittest tennis players in the world, fitter than many of the men. “Nothing is more rewarding in life than helping other people,” concluded Stan.

Margaret was brought up in Albury and lived opposite 24 grass tennis courts where she spent much of her time. She said when she was 13 someone saw her playing and said she could be the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon and that became her ambition. She was the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon and she was also the first woman in 21 years to speak at a Melbourne Prayer breakfast.

At 15 she came to Melbourne to train, at 17 she won her first Grand Slam and at 18 she won the Australian, French and US Opens. The following year she went to America and by 1965 she had won everything so decided to retire to Perth where she was not well known. To relax she took up squash and became the number one player in the state. She married Barry Court, decided to go back to tennis and within a year was number 2 in the world. Her goal was to win all four major tennis tournaments in the one year, which she did. Then she had a baby and decided to be the first mother to be number one in the world so she did that too. That year she won 24 of the 25 tournaments.

“I always knew my talent and gift was from God and I always went to church on Sunday no matter where I was in the world but I did not know God in a close way. I had money, a wonderful husband and fame but there was something missing in my life, so I went to a meeting with a friend, wanted what those people there had, and gave my heart to Christ and at last I knew the reality of Christ.

“I had never read the Bible but the simplicity of the message of knowing Jesus, knowing He died for all mankind made all the difference to me. I went back on tour with tennis after my second child was born but after a while we decided to go back home where our heart was.”

Margaret was also the first tennis player to travel with her husband and children when on tour. Barry, the son of the former WA premier Sir Charles Court, is a pastoralist in New Norcia and they have four children.

When she had four children under the age of eight Margaret developed a torn heart valve and became very depressed. So she went to Rhema Bible Training Centre in WA and during that time she was totally healed and did not need medication any more.

In 1996 with 24 people she started Victory Life Centre which is now a community of 1600 people that feeds 250 families per week and runs workshops and a Bible school. “They come in as drug addicts, people who have been abused. They go through our workshops our Bible school and their lives are changed. We find them jobs, homes, furniture,” said Margaret.

“I have learned the power of words. God created the world with words. He framed it in words. We need to teach our young ones to speak in a way that shapes their destiny. The Bible is the greatest motivator you can ever have. It is so important to have a goal, a vision. We in this nation are so blessed to have the freedom to preach the gospel. Many nations do not have that freedom so we need to protect it and guard it.

“When I was at the top I had everything. But really I had nothing. Wherever you are you can reach out to the King of kings and He will come into your life. That is the wonderful grace of God for all mankind. I believe the best is yet to come for our wonderful nation,” concluded Margaret.

Helen Woodall
New Life Christian newspaper: www.nlife.com.au

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