Your Kingdom Come
by Brad Spangler
Several years ago I attended East Africa Faith The Conference in Nairobi Kenya. One night after the meetings were finished the team I was with found a local grocery store to buy some food. When I was done shopping I walked outside and saw the cutest little boy crawling on the ground. Two women stood near by but their attention seemed to be focused on other things. My heart broke as I saw this little boy who was crawling on the dirty sidewalk playing with trash. I asked the lady standing closest to him what his name was and she replied, “His name is Daniel and I am his grandmother.”
Then his mother walked up to me and said that I could keep Daniel if I wanted to because she couldn’t afford to take care of him. He reminded me so much of my own son Andreas, who at the time was about a year old. I told his mother that I couldn’t take him, but I did ask to hold him. She was agreeable, so I picked him up and held him. He was the cutest little guy and I couldn’t help but wonder what his future might look like growing up in such poverty stricken conditions. After a couple of minutes some other team members I was with came out of the store and began to talk with Daniel’s mother and grandmother.
As I was holding Daniel I noticed that he wasn’t wearing diapers and that his pants were soiled both front and back. This boy was 10 months old! His mother began asking for money, so one of our team members tried to go back into the store to buy food and diapers, but unfortunately the store had closed and they weren’t letting anyone else in. With that being the case the team member prayed a quick prayer that God would bless this woman with the means to get her baby proper care. By the time He said, “Amen” a gentleman walking by asked this team member if he had dropped some money. He looked down and the man was holding a $100 bill (in Kenya they accept US currency). He said,”no” but you should give it to this lady, and without hesitation the man handed the money over to Daniel’s mother. Praise God!
This opened a door for us to start praying for her and others around. By the time we left multiple people were healed physically, Daniel’s mother was blessed financially, and all of us felt God’s love and presence very strongly. Before I left that night I prayed over Daniel and spoke a blessing over his life. Now, I would love to say that after encountering God’s love through our team, Daniel and his family lived happily ever after. The truth is I’m not sure what Daniel’s life looks like right now, or if he’s even still alive. I can say though with confidence that our team did what they could with what they had available.
I could not take Daniel home that night, but I could lovingly put my arms around him and pray for him. You see God will only hold us accountable for giving what we do have, not what we don’t have. At times it’s easy to feel like what you are doing for the Kingdom of God really isn’t making a difference, but I’m writing this to let you know that it absolutely does. Your small acts of obedience over a long period of time makes for a great impact! So I encourage you to be alert, be bold, and be obedient. Choose to step out and see what God will do through you! Until God’s new creation is fully realized on this earth, the cry of our heart remains, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 NKJV