She came running into our small church kitchen and fell into my arms. She wept for nearly twenty minutes. My soul came undone as I sat and listened. Her heart simply broke open and months of beatings, terror and violence spilled out. It shook me to the core to hear an eight year-old girl talk about her drunk father coming into her room at night. My mind had no trouble filling in the blanks. It was one of those conversations you pray will never be real. But is was. Kathy was sobbing and disjointed bits and pieces of her life were becoming clear. And sadly, after nearly ten years of urban ministry, I've heard this same story before…from Dominique, from Martin, from Ivan, from Raquel. But Kathy's last sentence was different.

"A.B.," there was a catch in her small voice.

"Yes, babe." I stared intently into her big brown eyes

"That church bus picks me up every week."

Despite my sadness I smiled. A small Baptist church, nowhere even close to the neighborhood, comes through these skinny streets early every Sunday morning, picking up kids for Sunday service.

I nodded my head and the little girl went on, "I go and every Sunday I pray that my dad will stop..."

I held my breath.

"-but he never does."

I could feel my own heart pounding. I pray my dad will stop…but he never does. And in that moment I knew that God was calling me to stand up. I was to be the answer to this prayer.

Kathy got up and I held her in my arms. My body was embracing hers but my mind was already spinning. Trying to come up with a plan. Orchestrating an answer to prayer. Because I don't want her to grow up thinking God is faithless…when in fact it was me. How many times do we blame God for his silence and seeming apathy when in fact the truth is that one of his children dropped the ball? God loves us enough to use us. He offers us the freedom and then trusts us with kingdom work. God sometimes answers our prayers through his people. He might split open the sea, break bread and feed thousands or call dead men back to their feet…but other times our mighty God uses a Barnabas to help mold a Paul or takes a David and gives him a couple of rocks.

Some prayers remain unanswered and it is truly a mystery as to what God is doing. But stop to think that some unanswered prayers have nothing to do with God, but everything to do with us. God hears everything. But do we? How foolish to pray that a homeless man will have enough to eat. Get up, get out….feed that man. God moves in our hearts and invites us to action. Don't deceive yourself into thinking that someone else will do it. This could be your finest hour because it isn't someone else's job. It is yours. It is mine. God loves us enough to call us to be responsible and active in his mighty plan. And sometimes when we refuse to act the job doesn't get done. And I don't know for sure, but maybe if I wouldn't have stood up for Kathy she might have had to endure another decade of ache and abuse. She would have reason to believe that God was weak and lukewarm.

It wasn't easy to rise up for Kathy. I put my own safety at risk and have spent the last couple of weeks looking over my shoulder. Even worse, Kathy was pulled out of all our programs. I might never see her again. I've known Kathy for nearly her whole life. Her brothers, sisters and cousins have all grown up in our church. The price was high. But just maybe tonight she won't be scared before she goes to bed and tomorrow her sister won't have to carry a knife for protection in her own house.

God hears our prayers. Make no mistake, the Father listens to his children. The way he moves is a profound mystery. And in his grace and mercy he invites us, his children, to be his hands and feet. He calls us to compassionately touch the ache of humanity and leave the very mark of God in places of chaos and confusion. We indeed can often do little against the ravages of disease and reality of death but we can do a great deal to re-clothe people with dignity, banish loneliness and re-instill hope. We are children of the King. We wear his name and are channels for his power. Mirrors for his light. Hands and feet for his glory.

Pray to God for answers and then rise up from your knees. Be an answer.

* all names and identifying details have been changed to protect anonymity. © Amy Beth Augustin Barlow 2003