The Hollander | by Kelsea Studebaker – May 28, 2025

Though the message of the morning and evening services covered different events from history, a common theme of God’s divine providence on our nation and the power of prayer emerged.

David Barton shared a story from WWII at the morning services, describing how General George Patton was losing all hope of victory as many of his men were perishing due to the harsh winter conditions in Europe. Temperatures well below freezing with many inches of snow accumulating and dense fog made for poor visibility grounding aircraft and making it nearly impossible to move equipment with urgently needed supplies to the troops. Soldiers who lacked warm clothes succumbed to frostbite, hypothermia, and even death. In desperation, General Patton sought the advice of his chaplain, James O’Neill, inquiring if there were any biblical prayers he and his men could pray regarding the weather.

As a result, General Patton had the following prayer printed and handed out to 250,000 of his men.

“ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, lo restrain these immoderate rains with which we have to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Amen.”

After Patton’s soldiers prayed this prayer, the weather miraculously turned from unbearably horrendous to amazingly clear skies on Christmas Day which lasted for nine days. This turned the tide of the Battle of the Bulge (the bloodiest battle of WWII that lasted from December 16, 1944–January 25, 1945), allowing Patton’s men to be victorious.

The power of prayer.

At the evening service, Barton shared more stories of God’s providence and the power of prayer. He began the service with some statistics on the spiritual temperature of America. He shared that only 9% of Christians read the Bible daily and only 4% of Americans have a biblical worldview. Of church-going Christians, an alarming 56% believe there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time.

On the contrary, Barton highlighted the recent revivals breaking out across college campuses all over the United States with thousands coming to faith in Christ and being baptized. Yet, he alleged revivals do not always change the culture. Instead, he asserted that awakenings change the culture.

He stressed two important elements of an awakening:
1. True biblical discipleship (not just evangelism)

2. When faith becomes relevant to daily living (it affects everything you do). He reminded us that the great commission in Matthew 28 says to go and “make disciples” of all nations.

Barton underscored how many people obsess with national focus instead of where the greatest impact can occur locally. He shared how during the Great Awakening, George Whitefield traveled across America preaching 18,000 sermons in 34 years and amazingly 80% of Americans heard his sermons. During the 2nd Great Awakening, Rev. Francis Asbury traveled 300,000 miles on horseback to preach and disciple, the equivalent of going around the world 12 times!

Barton spoke of how John Quincy Adams served in Congress after he was president. He relentlessly spoke out against slavery, despite the constant opposition and even censorship from southern members of Congress. Finally, one young man in Congress started paying attention and Adams became a mentor to him. Although Adams died believing he had little impact on eliminating slavery, the young man he mentored later went on to become our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln!

During his presidency, as the Civil War battles were raging on and it wasn’t looking good for the Union, Lincoln called the nation to a time of humiliation, fasting, and a National Day of Prayer. The Union had lost the majority of the battles up until this point. However, after the National Day of Prayer, a miraculous shift occurred, and the Union began to win nearly every battle thereafter.

The power of prayer!

Barton closed with a call for followers of Christ to focus locally. Find a few people to pour into and mentor, making disciples. This, Barton asserts, is what leads to an awakening—the only way to truly change the culture.

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In the words of John Quincy Adams, “Duty is ours… results are God’s.”

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.” —Proverbs 21:31

‍Author’s recommendations of how to start local:
‍• Visit Mentor Me of West Michigan: To find someone to mentor, or find someone in your church or community

• Visit Salt and Light Council: To start a salt and light ministry in your church

• Invite an inspirational speaker like David Barton to speak at your church

• Write uplifting news stories, like this one, and submit it to The Hollander for publication to encourage others

• Visit needgod.com: To learn more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus

Watch David Barton’s message from the morning service.

About the author:

Kelsea Studebaker is a life-long resident of West Michigan. Her love for Jesus motivates her to strive to live each day eternally focused. Kelsea loves spending time with her husband and children as well as her large extended family. In her free time, she enjoys reading, creating teaching resources, speaking on apologetics and freelance writing.

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