McCall’s book was birthed among a gentle hum of a city at work filling the air during a warm summer afternoon in Washington, D.C. Yet, within a modest study lined with theology books, diplomatic memorabilia, and a well-worn Bible collection, Louis McCall’s attention turned toward something far beyond policy or politics. His author’s voice is full of the decades-old notes of an experienced continent hopper as he glides from the realms of a life that is maintained in prayer, scripture, and an honest expounding of the Gospel.
McCall may not be a well-known name, but maybe he should be. The one who represented the United States from Africa to Europe and from Asia, Australia and Oceania to the Middle East has a way of reaching individuals from wherever! His recently published book, According to Your Word Lord, I Pray, lays bare the intrinsic meaning of scriptural, prayerful, petition and praise. This fellow, McCall, not merely follows this discipline; it is a calling, he would definitely say, for his truth has been refined through a life of faith, danger, miracles, discipleship and answers to prayer.
His work on prayer, birthed intimately from the Word, is likely a standout and received a Papal blessing in a personal encounter in Vatican City with Pope Francis.
The book has happily attracted Christian attention from reviewers, one of which is Pacific Book Review, which considers it as a ‘roadmap for prayer’ and ‘a valuable resource in the process of securing a deeper level of communication with God.’ Indeed, admirers have praised its clarity, its courageous call to prayer, based on scripture, and its life-changing power.
Yet to understand the force of McCall’s writing, one must understand the story behind it.
A Childhood Marked by Faith and a Miracle
McCall seemed to go on an odyssey starting from his native home town, Chicago, where he grew up. His mother breathed into him a love for the church and the Bible. Faith at their home was not a theory but a lifestyle. He remembers being baptized at age seven. But the very next year was the situation that deeply marked him.
As an eight-year-old, McCall went from a season of pain and immobility to quickly find himself paralyzed from his waist down. Doctors called it rheumatic fever complicated by a hole in his heart.
In the hospital one night he recalled the Bible story of King Hezekiah, who, in desperation, turned his face to the wall and prayed. The eignt year-old McCall did the same. Two days later, McCall awoke to feeling and pain-free movement. Withing seconds, he joyfully went from testing the renewed life in his toes to jumping up and down in his hospital bed. That miracle afforded him the first lesson of many about the faithfulness of God’s intervention in response to prayer.
He had just become aware of the fact that prayer was not just rote repetition, but a bridge to the God who cared for people and whose Son, Jesus, was flogged for our healing.
A Young Leader Formed by Faith
High school saw McCall co-leading a youth group of Youth for Christ in after school meetings using available classrooms.
He looks back on those years not because of fame (there was none) but because they enabled him to see the value in living openly concerning his faith. He would refer to this period generally as the base on which his whole adulthood was built.
Upon graduation, he further surprised two well-meaning professors by turning down their kind offer to get him into the University of Illinois because his heart was set on attending Northwestern University. He later went, uninvited, and without an appointment to Northwestern University. He walked into the financial aid director’s office and successfully appealed to be admitted.
Faith, boldness, and prayer opened the doors of the university to him despite the odds.
Diplomacy and Ministry Across Continents
McCall initially worked as a diplomat in Zambia where he developed a close camaraderie with Canadian missionaries operating all over that nation as he traversed the country. His most meaningful achievement was in organizing the quiet evacuation, by small private aircraft, of American children from a missionary school that was in the path of retreating armed Katangese guerillas who had invaded Zaire from their base in Angola. Such incidents were simply the forerunners of a lifetime in which he had to balance his belief with his diplomatic duty.
Diplomacy maximizes opportunities to go where missionaries may not be allowed to go because of host government policies.
One night in Sierra Leone, McCall counseled a young German diplomat, like himself, not to leave the diplomatic service, explaining, as diplomats, we could go where missionaries could not, and share our Christian faith under the protection of an embassy.
One Ambassador asked if McCall was a fundamentalist. Not backing down from a challenge, McCall responded, “Mr. Ambassador, I’m a fanatic!”
Nonetheless, life was not always easy. In the face of the prevalence of non-Christian religions and the increasing anti-Christian hostility in some circles in India, he projected his boldness before a large congregation in one of the main churches in Calcutta. Behind the pulpit graced by some renowned missionaries and evangelists, he, in a bold public declaration, announced he was an ambassador for Christ. That moment served as a point of no return in standing for the kingdom and principles of God, without necessarily being a formal minister, evangelist, or missionary.
Encounters With Great Faith Leaders
His international journey brought McCall into the company and service of certain Christians he once admired from a distance. Among them was Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose sacrificial life of love and service to the least of that city made a lasting impression on him. At the same time, he worked alongside evangelists, missionaries, and Christian leaders from multiple denominations. These relationships shaped his conception of unity in the body of Christ. “I learned that you do not have to agree on every single doctrine to be brothers and sisters in Christ,” he states. That was made even clearer through bursts of love, scripture, and mutual mission that transcended denominational boundaries.
This conviction drew him to involvement in both a Catholic parish and a large protestant church in Washington, D.C. Though not Catholic, he has been working as a regular cantor in the Catholic Church, with the approval of his priests and protestant pastors, actually upholding with practicality, the spirit of ecumenism that has characterized his international ministry.
A Shift Toward Writing and Teaching
At the Department of State of the United States of America, as his career began to wind down, McCall had leadership roles that helped steer policy, oversight, and accountability. Among these, there were reviews that created much lobbying with the Congress on budgets and programs that reached a range of billions of dollars.
Nonetheless, outside all of that, he organized and led the National Day of Prayer in the Department, in his final two years, boldly highlighting expressions of Christian faith in otherwise secular spaces.
Retirement from paid secular service introduced him to a freedom previously unknown to him. “Leaving the Department gave me the freedom to write about my faith without restriction,” he says. What had been spoken from pulpits in Africa, Asia, Australia and the United States could finally be written for the world.
The Message of the Book
According to Your Word Lord, I Pray, reiterates only one theme: God honors His word. When believers pray according to scripture, they align with His character, His promises, and His authority.
Mark 11:23 to 24, and Jeremiah 1:7 to 9 describe these two passages in particular. These two passages reveal something very important to McCall. God expects believers to speak His truth boldly, without doubting, and without hesitation.
He went on to say, “God’s words in your mouth are as powerful as His words from His mouth.”
This book is full of practical instructions. Speak scripture out loud, pray it, decree it, and live it. Let your words stand on the understanding of and beliefee in the nature of God. Speak faith instead of fear. Give thanks before and after answers come. And mostly, truly build an intimate relationship with God.
Some readers might dismiss this emphasis as similar to “the gab it and grab it” approach. McCall doesn’t identify with that. He backs his messages in a scriptural context. He mentions over and over again the necessity of discipline and
of a pure heart, attuned to God. Pacific Book Review points to this fine balance in his present narrative, mentioning theologically-edifying and hope-filled stories.
A Writer Formed by Warfare and Wonders
This unwavering confidence has not come on the cheap. For instance, during his international assignments, McCall came face-to-face with spiritual warfare. In some parts of Africa and India, those he confronted were practitioners of occultism, witchcraft, and other forms of spiritual darkness such as worship of malevolent idol gods that opposed him.
Without sensationalism, McCall mentions these events.
He said, “I have a Ph. D. but the wisdom of man is foolishness to God.” God gives true wisdom from the scriptures and to those who ask Him for it.
A Message for Readers and the World
McCall hopes that his book will prompt readers to delve into the Scriptures and speak out the Word with trust. But beyond that, he desires Christ-followers to grasp their identity as sons and daughters of God. Prayer is not just begging but is a partnership with God.
Hence, McCall’s book brings comfort to those who have questions of faith. Answers to prayer may come in an instant, or they might come with time and long obedience in the same direction.
His dream is to get this message across to a bigger audience, meaning books being published, TV shows, and adaptions of his books into movies or TV serials. Whatever medium allows the Word of God, as it relates to prayer, to reach the most people.
A Life of Grace and New Assignments
While he tries to maintain an honest profile, McCall readily admits he is not perfect. His story is not one of personal glory but divine grace, the saving work of God Himself. What fills him with the most joy is not something he did but his
assurance that God, in His grace, will pardon his failures and keep giving opportunities to serve Him. Also, following the footsteps of the Bereans, he urges readers to search the Scriptures and scrutinize every teaching by the Word. The message is simple. Praying based on the Scriptures is powerful. And having faith in what one confesses is what shapes reality. And God’s promises remain forever with anyone who seeks in truth to meet God personally and humbly surrender to Him.
Links and References for According to Your Word Lord, I Pray
Book on Amazon: According to Your Word Lord, I Pray
- Author Website: https://louismccallinternational.com
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/louismccallinternational
- Pacific Book Review Feature: According to Your Word Lord, I Pray – Pacific Book Review
- LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louismccallinternational
