THE OPERATOR

by D. Berg

Do you know how powerful your prayers are?

They flow out of your mouth and they go out and find anybody that you want to pray for, wherever they are.

It doesn't matter who or where they are, God doesn't even have to have their address, He already knows it.
It's the power of the Spirit of God, and nothing can limit the power of the Spirit of God. It's the Elixir of Heaven! It doesn't matter what you pray for, it is just absolutely marvellous! Every one of you has power!

It's sad that we don't pray more for people, because there are so many people we could pray for and help. Don't you think you should pray for them? When you think about someone, you can send out a little prayer, just like a tracer.
But a thought about someone or something is not a prayer, a thought is just like an employee who's standing there waiting for a command, an order. And if he just stands there and waits, he'll never get anything done. A thought is only the beginning of a prayer.

When you pray a prayer in Jesus' name, it runs just like a messenger.

That's the difference. Just thinking about them is not going to do it. You have to put feet to your prayer and send it and say, "Oh God, please help them, in Jesus' name. I love them and I want You to help them!"

You have to send the messenger. You have to pray the prayer. There is so much that you will never know that you didn't accomplish because you didn't pray.

When you think about someone that you love, or someone that you feel sorry for or that you know needs help, it's God by His Holy Spirit Who is putting that thought in your mind.

It's just like a telephone call!

You're like the telephone exchange, and God sends the main call from His Spirit to your mind. But it's up to you to make the connection, to send it on to the party that needs to receive it. But if you only think about them and then you just cut if off, it's like you're turning the phone off on God!

It's like God's trying to make a phone call and He gives you the number and wants you to put it through. You're the operator. God is the One Who's calling, but He tries to put it through you because He wants to show you what love really is.

Love is making a connection from God to somebody who needs your love! You are the connection between God and that person, in love.

In our witnessing, God is the One Who's sending the message. He wants to get it to someone, but it has to go through you!--You're the operator.

And if you don't make the connection, if you're lazy and slow and negligent and you don't care and you don't even want to be bothered with these calls, so you don't make the connection, then it's a broken connection and they'll never get the message, they'll never receive the love, and so there's never any answer.
When God makes the call and He plugs it into your mind, then you think about that person. But then you have to plug it in and send it on its way to that person. And of course, on the other end of the line, when the phone rings, they have to pick it up and they have to listen and receive the call.

Isn't that beautiful? We're so tiny and miserable and itty-bitty, but if you are willing to make the connection, you can reach whoever He's trying to reach!

First of all, you've got to be plugged into the power, and then you can be the one who makes the connection. But when power is coming through a cord, even though the cord is connected to the appliance, it's up to you to make the connection with the switch, or the power can't flow through.

So much depends on prayer!

So much depends on us, because there are a lot of people who are already turned on, who already want to receive, but you don't make the connection, and that's the terrible part about it!

When we fail and don't make the connection, when we don't flip the switch and we don't plug it in, it's so sad!

We have a switch right in our mind, and all we have to do is to flip it. The power comes from God, and when the thought comes, just like a telephone operator, you should plug it into that hole that's ready and empty and receptive and already connected to the person.

That's why God wants you to pray!

And it's so sad when we don't pray and we don't flip the switch. God is calling and calling, but there are some people who don't even get the message from God, because of operators who don't even answer God!

And there are others of us who love Jesus and are listening and we get the message, but then we're lazy and we're not concerned and we don't plug it in and flip the switch and send it on to the recipient!

And of course there are some people on the other end that, even though they're connected, if they don't pick up the receiver and answer, then they will never get the message. But if they are responsive and they are receptive, they will pick up the phone and listen.

And that's just how simple it is! When God puts the thought in your mind about someone, that's a message from God.

He's putting in a phone call to you, and He wants you to be the operator and put that call through by prayer. That's all you can do. You can't make them receive it, you can't make them pick up the phone, you can't do it.

They have to pick up the phone. But if you, as the operator, fail to flick the switch or plug in the phone call to them, then they'll never have a chance to get the call. So if you're willing to be an operator, you have to put in the plug and you have to make the connection.

If a good operator does a good job and plugs in the phone call and makes a connection, then it will get through if the person on the other end responds, if they answer, if they receive it. The call will be on the line. There's power, right on the line!

When you pray for them and you call them and try to send them the message, it's on its way, you are ringing their bell. You're giving the message, you've already passed the message on from God through the wire, through the telephone exchange.

When they hear the bell ringing, that's God's warning voice: "I'm calling you! Listen to Me, pick up the receiver, I want to give you a message." But if they don't pick it up, they will never get the message.

If they don't want to hear from God and they don't want to hear the truth and they don't want Salvation and they don't want the answers, then they just refuse to answer the phone.

They could get all the answers and they could get all of their problems solved, and they could get God's message, if they would just pick up the telephone and listen and receive it, but some don't even want to hear.

Of course, there are some people who pick up the phone and listen a little bit, but they're not interested in the message, they don't want to talk to Him, and they don't want to talk to you. They say, "No, it's not important, I don't care," and then they just slam it back down because they don't even want to hear!

But the most important thing is that we are the operators, we are the link between God and them, and if we fail to pass the call on, if we fail to plug it in or we don't flip the switch they will never get the message.

But after the message is on the line, then it's their responsibility. And if they don't pick it up and listen, then that's not your fault, you're just the operator. When the operator tries the number and it doesn't answer, that's not their fault. Or if someone answers and then hangs up, that's not the operator's fault either.

But you are the connection between the two, and it's your prayers that make the connection, so you have to pray for them and make it specific. You can't just say, "Oh, that poor person, I feel so sorry for them."

You're the operator, you get the message from God, which He puts on your mind: "Oh, they're so sweet and they're so precious; they need love so badly and they want to hear this call, they really need it." But if you hang up and don't pass that on by prayer, then it's meaningless!

If you just feel sorry for them instead of transferring the call onward and plugging it into their number, it's just like you're telling God, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it."

That's because you don't believe in prayer. You don't believe in the power of God.

If you would believe more, then you would send that prayer, forward the call.

The operator has to believe that the message really comes from God, and has to believe in the message. And then you have to believe that you can plug it in and get through to them. Why would you plug it in if you didn't think there was going to be a connection?

Now operators are not always able to get through. There are all kinds of reasons why they can't get through sometimes: bad connections, or too much traffic on the lines, or there's not a clear line, or there's something wrong on the other end.

There are all kinds of problems involved in getting the message through, but you have to try. You have to plug in and send the message and pray and try. And then if there's something wrong out there, it's not your fault, but you are responsible to pray.

We could accomplish so much through prayer!

The World will never know how much has not been accomplished because people didn't pray.

We're the operators, and we get the message, but we have to believe the message is from God.

We have to believe the message ourselves, that it is a real message, and then we have to believe that we can make the connection through our prayers.

You can't always get through. Even a good faithful operator can't always get through. They can try and try and try, but at least they have the faith to try, and that's how your faith should be.

Do you know what faith is?

Your faith is the hand that flips the switch from God's message to the recipient. Or your faith is the hand that picks up the cord and plugs it into the hole, and tries to make the connection.

Then from there on, all problems with the call are not your fault. You have done your part. You are just the connector between God and them. That's what a witness is.

A witness is the connector between God and the people. A witness is the operator who receives the message of God and believes it. If the operator didn't believe there was a real call coming in, a bona fide call, and didn't really think that it was supposed to go through, the operator wouldn't plug it in, right?

That's how important it is for you to pray. Prayer is the hand of faith that flips the switch. You wouldn't pray if you didn't have the faith, right? If you didn't believe it, you wouldn't have the faith.

So much is dependent on us. So much depends on your prayers, because although God can do anything, He has committed Himself just to work through you. And your prayers can do mighty things and change the course of history!

So you can pray for a poor little girl or an old bum or a World leader or a country or a nation or anything. You can pray, and it turns God's mind!

God's Word says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; as the rivers of water, He turneth it whithersoever He will." And He turns the heart of the rulers towards His people. (See Proverbs 21:1; Ezra 6:22.)

Your prayers are the hand of faith that flips the switch. Of course, you have to already be turned on and tuned in, because you have faith and you're already connected to God.

So don't forget that even though the power is there and the utility is there, if you don't plug it in, they will never get the message, never receive what God wants to give them. The power may be there, but you have to operate it.

Please pray! You're the operator. It's your responsibility to pass on the message. Please don't fail!--Or someone might miss God's important call. Be a faithful operator. --Pray! Amen?

If you have not yet become a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you can receive Jesus' forgiveness for all your sins and His free gift of Salvation by simply praying the following prayer:

Dear Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died for me. I open the door and invite You into my heart. Please forgive me for all of my sins, and give me Your free gift of Eternal Life. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I, too, can become one of Your operators, to pray for and tell others of Your wonderful Love. Amen.