“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” -Matthew 6:10

Have you ever really thought about what that sentence means, and whose job that is?  Two thousand years ago, God sent Jesus, but He did ask for help from a young girl named Mary and her fiancé, Joseph. Then there was a cousin named John who did some advanced advertising and baptizing to get the public ready for Jesus’ ministry at age 30.  When He left, Jesus promised to come back, but He left a bunch of disciples to build the kingdom in His absence. 

Just praying those words is not a bad start.  After all, God created the entire world with His words. And the Bible does say that even our words have tremendous power– death and life, actually, according to Proverbs 18:21.  But those disciples didn’t just sit around and pray, they went out into the world to preach and serve.

Years ago, I was sitting in a window seat praying, and I saw my husband dragging our moving boxes out to the curb. The LORD spoke to me and said, “I want you to take the boxes to the woman you met at the neighborhood get-together last night.” I didn’t have any idea which house she lived in or remember her last name.  But when you hear God’s voice, it is pretty hard to say no. I dragged the boxes back into the garage as soon as my husband left for work. Then I put my daughter in her stroller and started going door to door until we found Laura.

I spent the day helping her fill boxes and listening to the tale of their broken marriage.  When it was time to go home to meet our other children at the bus stop, she thanked me and walked us out to my car. Then God asked me to pray with her.  As a new believer, I didn’t have much confidence in my prayers.  I generally asked everyone else to pray for me and mine.  Reluctantly, I opened my mouth and words came out. As soon as I did, Laura fell to the ground in a sort of swoon. I had absolutely no context for what was happening. So, I just sat down in the gravel next to her and continued to pray until the words stopped coming. I helped her get up and back into her house and then drove home. 

She moved away, they got divorced, and I only heard from her once after that day. I have no idea what that did for the kingdom.  But I do know that our “Yes” to God is a powerful force.  Romans 12:1 calls it “offering our bodies as a living sacrifice.” Daily bread is not just what God gives us, but what we can do for Him. We may not understand how it will advance the kingdom, and we don’t always get to hear what the impact has been, but if we say “here I am LORD” today and then do what He asks, someday, we will hear “Well done good and faithful servant!”