Without any fanfare or publicity, a member of the U.S. Senate has led 13 African heads of state to Jesus Christ.

This was revealed to CBN News by U.S. Senate Chaplin Barry Black, a pastor for 100 senators, who also ministers to about 600 other people on Capitol Hill. He is the 62nd chaplain of the Senate and the former chief of chaplains for the U.S. Navy.

But despite his religious credentials, Black says there are lawmakers who "dwarf him spiritually," with the senator he mentioned being one of them.

"We have one senator who has led 13 African heads of state to Jesus Christ," he said. To preserve the senator's preference for anonymity, Black declined to name him.

"I mean I haven't led a single African head of state to Jesus Christ and this senator has been able to do that. You have several ordained ministers in the Senate, Yale Divinity School, this kind of thing. They bring their spirituality," he said.

Earlier this month, Black drew cheers and inspired thousands when he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., an event organised by members of Congress from both parties. President Donald Trump, other top U.S. officials and other world leaders were in attendance.

Black revealed that far from the limelight, Republican and Democrat lawmakers attend Bible studies together, blurring their party affiliations by holding hands and praying together.

The chaplain also talked about the importance of prayer, saying that when people pray they "are making our voices heard in Heaven," The Christian Post reported.

Black, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and a Seventh-Day Adventist, said even when only two or three people are gathered together in prayer, God is already there to hear them. "So what happens when we get this many people gathered together in His name? I feel the palpable presence of God," he said.

The chaplain also exhorted Christians "to pray for everyone, all people" including non-Christians and that prayer must come "from a sense of need."

Black said people should "pray with a sense of intimacy," stressing that people should also pray for the people running the government.