Texas grassroots miraculously transformed by the power of prayer

There aren’t enough synonyms for “excited” — exuberant, joyful, passionate, elated — to describe Ron Schwartz and his eagerness to tell the world his story.

Well, not his story. God’s story.

Sometime between Christmas 2023 and January 4, 2024, Mr. Schwartz, a District Captain for Convention of States in Texas, approached COS Texas State Director Erika Hatfield with an urgent request. “I’ve just become very aware that what we’re missing in the country right now — and possibly the world — is God,” he told her.

“I think we need a prayer.”

To be clear, Ron was not exactly what you’d call a “religious” person. Born in a Jewish home, he says his family was ever only remotely religious. But after having studied the Constitution and Biblical Citizenship as a COS District Captain, he became convinced that God just might be the answer to the nation’s woes. Still, he made no claims to faith. And when Mrs. Hatfield suggested that he should write the prayer, he responded, “I’ve never written a prayer before in my life.”

But God was stirring in Ron’s life — something major was about to change.

Ron accepted the encouragement to write the prayer — though he didn’t know how. Armed only with his favorite fountain pen and a piece of paper, he sat at his desk, facing what seemed to be an insurmountable task.

“God, I need some help,” he said.

That’s when Ron paused, clearly emotionally. “Every time I tell this story,” he stammered, a tearful wonder in his voice, “God comes in me…. There’s nobody [who] can tell me there’s not a God.”

“The words just came out of the pen,” he told me, choking up as he spoke. “I wrote it one time.”

This is what he penned:

“Heavenly God and Creator of all things,
We failed you when we let down our guard from protecting your precious gift, the Constitution
We praise you for allowing us another opportunity to make our sins right
Please give us patience and guidance to get our country back on track and to drive evil back into the darkness
In your precious name, Amen”

That prayer, which Ron insists he does not deserve credit for, quickly began to make the rounds around Texas. Already, he said, plans exist to distribute this God-inspired invocation to every member of the Texas legislature, while the Texas team printed 4,000 copies for Ron to personally circulate.

But his miracle story was still just beginning.

On January 4, 2024, Hatfield, sensitive to Ron’s newfound responsiveness to God, arranged for him to speak with an evangelist over the phone. At the end of that call, the evangelist, who laid out the gospel, asked Ron if he would like to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. To his own surprise, Ron answered yes.

And the angels rejoiced (Luke 15:7)!

“I am changed,” Ron told me with confidence. Now, among many other radical changes in his life, communicating with God has become one of his favorite pastimes.

“You really do have a conversation with God,” he said, describing his daily prayer routine. “It doesn’t mean God is going to give you the answer right back. But when you start that… what a wonderful way to start your day! You talk if you want to. You just listen if you want to.” Plus, “I can’t wait to get into my Bible at night,” he added, noting that he no longer watches TV in order to make more time for studying God’s Word.

“It’s got to me,” he gushed, “and once you get that in you, I don’t know how you get it out.”

There’s no question about it: this openly Messianic Jew has a real relationship with the living God, and it fills him daily with indescribable joy.

Amazingly, Ron, who had previously set the goal of meeting Mark Meckler in 2024, learned that the COS president would be in town on January 4 — the day he accepted Christ! Naturally, he drove to hear him speak, eager for the opportunity to tell him about his life-changing experience with Christ. To Ron’s surprise, Mark, whom he had never met, singled the new believer out from the crowd, pointed at him, and said, “I’m so glad you’re here. We’ll talk after the meeting.”

Ron choked up. He said the experience felt like a lightning rod.

Like a “God thing.”

“I extend my hand to shake his hand,” Ron recounted what happened after the meeting, “because I thought that was a blessing just for that, and he doesn’t accept. He hugs me. And we’re both crying.”

“That was not only Mark,” he added. “God was there.”

Now, Ron lives with a passion to spread his prayer — not only within COS but also throughout America. If God could use those words to save his life, he wonders what would happen if we all prayed them together.

“I truly believe that if we all say that prayer to God, God will answer us…. So many people are suffering because they don’t have hope. This is so much hope,” he declared with gladness.

Throughout our time together, Ron Schwartz made one thing clear: he does not deserve the credit. God alone changed his life, and he’s excited, exuberant, joyful, passionate, and elated because he knows that same God can save this country.