Short Stories

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Several years ago a businessman in his late fifties approached his pastor after listening to one of his inspiring and challenging sermons and ask, "Pastor, at my age what can I do to be an impact in the building of God's Kingdom?" His pastor responded, "If you will make a serious commitment to pray earnestly and faithfully everyday for six months for one thing that God lays on your heart ...you will not believe what God will accomplish and the doors that will be opened." The man thought, “That wouldn't be so difficult on my part.”

He spent some time in the next few weeks thinking of something to concentrate his prayers toward and the longer he pondered the more his friend, a missionary in Africa, came to his thinking. He began praying everyday for his friend and soon wondered if there were something specific that he should be praying for, so he wrote his friend and ask him for any detailed instructions or requests regarding prayer requests. His missionary friend replied to him in a letter that they were in need of a school for the children.

Within weeks the new request became a prayer burden and the man found himself spending more and more time praying for the needed school. He soon felt the urge to send a small momentary contribution to his friend to be placed toward the new school’s building fund. Within weeks he began to increase his contributions and others began to listen to the "cry of his heart" and ask if they could join him with their offerings. Within a couple of months his missionary friend invited him to fly to Africa and see first-handed the work God was doing in their community. After arriving he was told they wanted to name the school in his honor and the people wanted to honor him with a celebration for organizing and sending the momentary contributions needed to complete their dreams of having a new school for the children.

Within days the celebration was set and the word quickly spread across the countryside and on the day of celebration even the President of the small country had arrived to share in the festivities. At one point the President ask to meet this man that had been instrumental in making the new school possible and so a formal introduction of the two was made possible. During their brief exchange the President said, "I suppose you have heard about our detaining a couple of your countries’ visiting dignitaries?" and the man replied that he hadn't read or heard anything about it, not knowing that it had been an unofficial and unannounced visit by our State Dept. of Foreign Affairs. He looked at the President and said, "I think you should let them go."

After a few days of visiting with his missionary friend and sharing in the excitement of the people over the new possibilities developing in their community, the businessman returned to his home in the United States. Within days he was visited by a couple of men from the State Department and ask about his recent visit to Africa. They ask about his conversation with the President of that country and what had been said. The businessman shared the words of his brief conversation with the President along with his words, "I think you should let them go," when he was told about the detainees. The men from the State Department said, "Well, they were released and arrived back here in the US yesterday and shared the story of their release and that you had been instrumental in gaining their release." The businessman was surprised by the words he heard and even more surprised when the men from the State Department ask, "It wouldn't be an announced official position, but would you be willing to work in a position of liaison between the two countries?"

As the businessman was sharing all the events and happenings with his pastor, he said, "I never knew how prayer could open so many doors and so much could be accomplished." The pastor said, "Your payers simply opened the doors of your heart and allowed God the freedom to work through you."

Jim Hubner 3.13.07

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