Europe, December 1944. A thick covering of fog and clouds has grounded American warplanes for 2 months, rendering them unable to assist the US Army’s ground forces. Rain, snow, and subzero temperatures make harsh battlefield conditions. The US 101st Airborne, under the command of Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, is holding Bastogne, a small city in Belgium 100 kilometers from the German border. The Germans have launched a heavy offensive with 200,000 troops with the intent of driving through to the harbor of Antwerp. The Battle of the Bulge is on.
The Germans launch wave after wave of artillery and ground attacks on Bastogne. The Americans, who are outnumbered 5 to 1, put up a fierce resistance and hold the line, but they’re running out of supplies. The situation is rapidly becoming dire. Surrender would mean certain death for many US soldiers. Earlier, while en route to Bastogne, the German army captured 84 American soldiers and slaughtered them in what became known as the Malmedy Massacre.
The only way the Americans in Bastogne can be resupplied is by air, but the frigid weather shows no sign of abating. Snow and ice are everywhere, and the skies are covered by clouds and fog. The Third Army, en route to Bastogne to break the siege of Bastogne, is also being hampered by the weather, in addition to the skirmishes that must be overcome before they can move forward.
On December 8, 1944. General George Patton, commander of the Third Army, called Chief Chaplain James O’Neill into his office and asked him to create a prayer to ask God to lift the covering of clouds and fog that was keeping them from air support. O’Neill created this prayer:
“Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrains these immoderate rains with which we have had 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.”
Patton signed off on the prayer, told O’Neill to print 250,000 cards with it, and distribute them to the Third Army. Then Patton said, “Chaplain, how much praying is being done in the Third Army?” To which the chaplain replied, “I am afraid to admit it, but I do not believe that much praying is going on. When there is fighting, everyone prays, but now with this constant rain—when things are quiet, dangerously quiet, men just sit and wait for things to happen. Prayer to most of them is a formal, ritualized affair involving special posture and a liturgical setting. I do not believe that much praying is being done.”
“I am a strong believer in prayer,” Patton responded. “There are three ways that men get what they want—by planning, by working, and by prayer… Up to now, in the Third Army, God has been very good to us. We have never retreated; we have suffered no defeats… this is because a lot of people back home are praying for us. But we have to pray for ourselves too. A good soldier is not made merely by making him think and work. There is something in every soldier that goes deeper than thinking or working—it’s his guts. It is something that he has built in there. It is a world of truth and power that is greater than himself.”
Patton then issued an order to the Third Army to “Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for battle. Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our army, and pray for peace.”
On December 23, 1944, the skies cleared. The US air force immediately launched thousands of sorties. Desperately needed suppliers were dropped on Bastogne. American fighter planes, the P-38 Lightnings and P-47 Thunderbolts, strafed the German army at will. Hundreds of German tanks and trucks were taken out. One American P-47 pilot stated, “Targets all over the place. Our air controllers zeroed in on hundreds of fat targets… we caught them out of fuel… hundreds and hundreds of vehicles, tanks, trucks, lined up on the road in a traffic jam.”
O’Neill would later recall: “As General Patton rushed his divisions to the relief of the beleaguered Bastogne, the prayer was answered… to the consternation of the Germans and the delight of the Americans who were equally surprised at the turnabout… the rains and the fogs ceased… General Patton prayed for fair weather in battle. He got it.”
Because one man, who had no theological training, believed in prayer enough to command his troops to pray constantly, God moved in power and the momentum of the Battle of the Bulge was radically turned.
Even so, victory came at great cost. Allied forces had an estimated 83,000 casualties, with 8,600 killed. The Third Army continued to push forward into Germany. On May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered.
80 years later, the church is in a spiritual firefight, with casualties mounting everywhere. Many have walked away from the faith, especially our youth. Large numbers of men, women, and youth are in bondage to sexual sin. A ministry leader is exposed for sexual sin or sexual abuse every day in the USA. The spiritual warfare against committed believers on the front lines can be intense. The occult is widespread, with many compromised Christians playing with it. In spite of all this, many believers aren’t equipped for spiritual warfare. Chaplain O’Neill’s words hit a nerve that “When things are quiet, dangerously quiet, men just sit and wait for things to happen. Prayer to most of them is a formal, ritualized affair, involving special posture and a liturgical setting. I do not believe that much praying is being done.”
How often do we hear a ministry leader saying “I am a strong believer in prayer” and then commanding his people to get on their knees? I know, I know, we can’t tell people what to do in Christian circles. It might ruffle their pride feathers. We modern believers tend to make soothing, carefully worded, suggestions, without a sense of urgency less we disturb such gentle ears. Let’s not get carried away here with this Christian life or prayer thing. It’s not as if we were losing a war, lives are being destroyed all around us, or we are in the days leading up to the tribulation.
Patton shows us the difference between a teacher and a leader. We have thousands of Bible teachers. You can get the best Bible teaching in the world everywhere on Youtube. I have never heard a pastor command his flock to pray like Patton did.
In a time of all-out spiritual warfare like we are living in today, we need leaders.
The Garden of Gethsamane was the setting of one of the most critical spiritual battles of all time. During these moments in the garden, Jesus prayed with such intensity that he sweated blood. Luke 22:39-46 shows us that Jesus commanded the apostles to pray, twice:
“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
“Get up and pray!” He didn’t tell them to do a Bible study on prayer, quote verses, or recite the Lord’s prayer – the only weapon He gave them was prayer. The apostles didn’t pray and were so spiritually crippled from the assault that immediately came afterward that they were mired in hopelessness and refused to believe the women who encountered Jesus at the tomb after He was resurrected:
“But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”
– Luke 24:11
With one exception, none of the apostles went all the way with Jesus to the cross. Thank God for His grace and mercy when Jesus appeared to the apostles later.
“For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.”
Psalm 18:31-40
Do we pray with a sense of urgency? Do we know we are at war and have we been equipped to overcome an enemy who comes to shatter our faith and render us useless in one of the most titanic battles of all of human history? Believer, do you know that you are called to be a warrior and an overcomer (Revelation 2-3)? Or is the Christian life about learning Bible verses and being nice while having as much of the world as you can grab?
Leaders understand that we are in an intense spiritual firefight and that many lives are at risk. Every day, thousands of men and women slip into eternity apart from Christ, with no second chances. Thousands of men and women are in bondage to sin, especially, sexual sin. Many who have attended church for decades are rotting, unchallenged, in a lukewarm foxhole. Since Genesis 3, the human race has been at war with a vicious enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
A leader will say something like this to his congregation: “Prayer is our most powerful weapon. We will not merely talk about prayer, we will be a house of prayer. We will run prayer meetings 7 days a week, every week. I want every one of you to participate in at least one prayer meeting every week. No believer is greater than his prayer life. We will take new ground. We will be a praying powerhouse. Strongholds will be broken and captives will be set free. We will pray constantly for the lost, for each other, for hurting people, especially those in our midst. I know a church like this isn’t for everyone. That’s okay. There are many other churches where you can sit, watch, and go home. This church isn’t one of them. If you read the book of Acts you will see that they began with 7 days of prayer meetings and they met often for prayer after this. That church was spiritually powerful and saw miracles, because, like General George Patton, they knew prayer was powerful. We will pray for boldness as the early church did and we will pour our lives out until the end. We will pray together every Sunday, and once every 40 days, we will devote and entire service to prayer. Let’s go to war.”
A teacher will provide an exegesis of a verse on prayer as they cross it during their sermon plan, encourage people to pray, maybe give them several application points, and move on.
I know from personal experience how powerful prayer is. With God, I’ve received strength when drained, overcome intense spiritual battles, and received blessings and answers to my requests. During hours-long prayer sessions I have encountered God, heard His voice, experienced deep peace and rest, and been equipped for battle – sometimes while being attacked.
I don’t believe that most Christians or churches believe in prayer like General Patton did. If they did, they would be running prayer meetings through the week and putting their flock on their knees often, including Sunday morning. Miracles would be their way of life and they would be taking new ground instead of watching from the sidelines as we lose it.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”
James 5:13-18
“Devote yourselves to prayer”
Colossians 4:2
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”
Romans 12:10-13
Those who have tasted and believe in the power of prayer encourage and challenge others to join them because they know from experience that prayer is the main powerline to the Christian life.
Many Christians talk about revival. How many are willing to invest the hours in prayer needed for breakthroughs and miracles? Are you?
“Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for battle. Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy who banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our army, and pray for peace.”
– General Patton
Patton’s Prayer, a True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory is a book by Alex Kershaw that details the events surrounding Patton’s Prayer. I referred to it for this newsletter. It is well worth the read.