Small Potatoes

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During a public ministry that lasted almost 60 years, Douglas Coe was one of the most influential spiritual leaders in Washington D.C.

Known as the “stealth Billy Graham,” he impacted others through gracious, under-the-radar partnerships with Republicans, Democrats, and everybody in between, not to mention religious groups and denominations of every stripe.  

Coe was instrumental in the conversion of Chuck Colson; contributed to the progress of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; helped establish the National Prayer Breakfast; and was a key player in the creation of a program to provide spiritual and relational care for children of servicemen and women around the world.

As pastor John Ortberg reports in his book If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, he also helped a “nobody” named Bob make a difference in a faraway place.

Bob was an insurance salesman who had no formal connections with anyone in government circles. He became a Christian and began to meet with Doug to learn about his new faith.

One day, Bob came in excited about a statement in the Bible – the place where Jesus says, “Ask whatever you will in my name, and you shall receive it.” 

“Is that really true?” Bob demanded. Doug explained, “Well, it’s not a blank check. You have to understand it in the context of the Bible’s whole teaching on prayer. But yes – it really is true. Jesus really does answer prayer.”

“Great!” Bob said. “Then I gotta start praying for something. I think I’ll pray for Africa.”
“That’s kind of a broad target,” Doug said. “Why don’t you narrow it down to one country?”
“All right. I’ll pray for Kenya.”
“Do you know anyone in Kenya?” Doug asked.
“No.”
“Ever been to Kenya?”
“No.” Bob simply had his heart set on Kenya.

So Doug made a crazy proposition. He challenged Bob to pray for Kenya every day for six months. If Bob would do that and nothing extraordinary happened, Doug would pay him $500. But if something remarkable did happen, Bob would pay Doug $500. 

And if Bob did not pray every day, the whole deal was off. You have to admit, this is what one might call a non-traditional arrangement. But Doug Coe was a creative guy.

Bob began to pray, and for a long while nothing happened. 

Then one night he attended a dinner in Washington. The people around the table explained what they did for a living. One woman said she helped run an orphanage in Kenya – the largest of its kind.

In Orterg’s memorable retelling, Bob could suddenly picture $500 sprouting wings and flying away. But he couldn’t keep quiet. He had not said much up to this point, and now he pounded her relentlessly with questions.

“You’re obviously very interested in my country,” the woman said to Bob, overwhelmed by his sudden surge of curiosity. “You’ve been to Kenya before?”
“No.”
“You know someone in Kenya?”
“No.”
“Then how do you happen to be so curious?”
“Well, someone is kind of paying me $500 to pray…”

She asked if he would like to come visit Kenya and tour the orphanage. Bob was so eager to go, he would have left that very night if he could.

When Bob arrived in Kenya, he was appalled by the poverty and the lack of basic health care. Upon returning to Washington, he couldn’t get Kenya out of his mind. He contacted large pharmaceutical companies, describing to them the vast needs he had seen. He reminded them that every year they would throw away significant stocks of unsold medical supplies. “Why not send them to this place in Kenya?” he asked.

And some of them did. The orphanage received more than a million dollars’ worth of surplus medicines and supplies.

The woman called Bob up and said, “Bob, this is amazing! We’ve had the most phenomenal gifts because of the letters you wrote. We would like to fly you back over and have a big party. Will you come?” So Bob flew back to Kenya. 

Since this was the largest orphanage in his country, the president of Kenya attended the celebration. He offered to take Bob on a tour of Nairobi, the capital. In the course of the tour they drove past a penitentiary. Bob asked about those behind bars.
“They’re political prisoners,” he was told.
“That’s a bad idea,” Bob said brightly. “You should let them out.”

Bob finished the tour and flew back home. Sometime later, he received a phone call from the State Department of the United States government.
“Is this Bob?”
“Yes.”
“Were you recently in Kenya?”
“Yes.”
“Did you make any statements to the president about political prisoners?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him he should let them out.”

The State Department official explained that he and his colleagues had been working for years to get the release of these prisoners, to no avail. Normal diplomatic channels and political maneuverings had led to dead ends. But now the prisoners had been released, and the State Department was told it had been largely because of…Bob. So the government was calling to say thanks.

Several months later, the president of Kenya reached out to Bob by phone. He was going to rearrange his government and select a new cabinet. Would Bob be willing to fly over and pray for him for three days while he worked on this crucial task? 

So Bob – an insurance salesman with no political connections, seemingly just a “small potatoes” guy in the kingdom of God – boarded a plane once more and flew to Kenya, where he prayed and asked God to provide wisdom for the leader of the nation.

Small steps plus prayer can lead to some very big things.

You may not make $500 because you choose to talk to God.

But you just might end up helping to change the world.