"The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." Proverbs 31:11 ESV

A story of a good woman's many prayers asking that her husband turn to Christ, but this story must begin with the life and background of the man for whom she prayed, so that the story may be more fully told:

Born in a run down tenement at Cincinnati, Len was a child who held little promise. He would live on a homemade houseboat for years with his family and he attended a one-room schoolhouse until he quit. At the close of his meager childhood, the family could no longer make a living from farming, and moved west to California during the Great Depression. Len lived a life then that was right out of the novel "The Grapes of Wrath", as a fruit harvest worker in the camps of Del Monte, and that life was hard.

At age 19, Len always had a smile and a good song for everyone. Trying to capitalize on his singing talents, he tried out for a radio appearance and the greater Los Angles area like what they heard. Len was on his way to becoming a notable western entertainer.

In 1932, he would buy his own horse and change its name to "Trigger", win a contest to become the nation's newest favorite "singing cowboy" and change his own name from Leonard Slye to Roy Rodgers. It was quite a year for Roy, including marrying a woman named Lucile who would divorce him in 1936.

With the death of his second wife Grace, shortly following the birth of the couples second child in 1943, Rodgers was at the top of his profession, but without a saving knowledge of Christ,  he was a man adrift.

It is said that "behind every good man there stands a good woman" and fate smiled upon Roy Rodgers again when Dale Evans came into his life. They were married on New Years Eve of 1948 and Dale prayed for and encouraged Roy as best she could to get America's "King of the Cowboys" to come to Jesus, the King of Kings.

When Roy said he lost his old bible, she bought him a new one, and when he said he did not have time for church, she made time for him. At the table, saying grace was changed to include a sentence spoken by the family members individually, and Roy would take his turn right along with their children.

Reflecting back upon his decision for Christ and thoughts about religion, Rodgers said of Dale "I didn’t know what she meant at first. To some people, religion may come in one big emotional experience. I moved to it a step at a time: regular attendance at church, reading a few passages from the Bible, saying Grace."*

Along with Billy Graham, Dale and Roy would become a part of the Hollywood Christian Group at the Bel Air Church and supported child adoption programs for the rest of their lives. Later, they would join Billy Graham at certain Crusades locations and It was often said that many a boy came to Christ because they were told by Roy Rodgers that "it was the thing to do" when he had spoken at these Crusades.

When Roy met Dale, his life changed forever, as have the lives of many a good man who had the love and prayers of a good woman. Without a Dale in his life, loving and praying for him, Roy would have been out of the limelight by 1955 and probably off to a life of seclusion like the rest of the old stars, instead of going forward with the Lord's work for such a long time. So it is with the power of prayer given in love.

"Until we meet again, may the good Lord take a liking to you." .. Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans

*Guideposts, March 1955, "Roy Rodgers on Finding Faith"

Post Script: Other Roy Rogers Quotes about life:

Roy Rodgers liked to say that he was born at the second base of Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, which in effect, was true. The tenement he was born in stood at that exact spot before being demolished to build the stadium.

When asked about the state of things at the peak of his career, he said, "The world changed. Hollywood changed. I think we have lost something, and we don't know how to get it back."

When asked about his view on his own sadness concerning the deaths of loved ones in his life, he said "If there were no valleys of sadness and death, we could never really appreciate the sunshine of happiness.."

Rik Charbonneaux is a retired NE Iowan who loves all of God's Word and all of His creatures.