Rivers of Living Water

Joshua has been teaching adult Bible studies on Sunday nights. The classes range from two-five participants each week. The Christians who come are still grasping the basic understanding of their faith. Subjects such as how to worship and how to pray, which are routinely addressed to young children in a Sunday school class, have been overlooked with new adult Christians. It is assumed that an adult Christian should “know” how to do these things, even though they have lived their entire lives in the world. We have found that these principles are a great need in their lives, including implementing good study habits, so often, the bible studies are set around learning how to study, how to pray, how to worship, etc.

Joshua recently shared in the Bible Study: “You can teach a monkey to do math if you show it to him ten times. Equally, you can teach a man to be a Christian just by plopping him in a church. Even though he doesn’t understand his faith, he will follow the group and close his eyes for prayer, raise his hands, and make handsome prayers. Better that a man is not a monkey, and has faith with understanding.”

After the worship on one particular Sunday, I asked the children and adults to pray together with me before we parted into our classes. Instinctively, the children bowed their heads and closed their eyes, and I interrupted the moment. “Who can tell me why we close our eyes for prayer?” I inquired, and the heads popped up. “In respect to God,” came one reply. “Because we shouldn’t look at God when we talk to him,” answered another. “No,” I explained, “we close our eyes because we do not want to be distracted by our neighbors or companions.” I made a silly face. “If your neighbor is making faces at you, and your eyes are closed, then you won’t be distracted. We want all of our attention to be focused on God when we pray to Him.” We then prayed and Joshua led the adults into the bedroom to study while I continued the children’s class in the living room.

That night, everyone piled into the truck to head back to their villages, and I and Manuel were sitting in the bed of the truck with about seven children. I asked him how the Bible Study went. His eyes lit up and he situated himself excitedly. “I have never been so aware of how little I know of the Bible!” I frowned, puzzled, and he laughed. “Did you know,” he continued, “that I have been coming to church for years, and never thought about why we close our eyes to pray? I did it out of habit. But now, I know: it’s so I’m not watching the cockroach on the ceiling, or looking at the wiggling child in front of me.” I shook my head and agreed, but barely could get in a word as he continued.

“Tonight, we studied about Jesus being born. All my life I was told that the wise men came to the stable when He was born. But tonight, Joshua took the time tonight to explain to me how the wise men knew that the Holy King of Israel would have a star appear over his birthplace because a prophet many years before had been a slave of their land and had prophesied of the coming King. He explained how the star appeared the night that Jesus was born, and it was then that those wise men set out on a journey from their distant eastern land. No one knows how long that journey lasted, but when they finally arrived, the book of Matthew defines Jesus as a small child, not a baby, and says that they were living in a house, not a manger.

“For many years, I read the Bible, specifically that passage, multiple times, and it was just words; it was like I was always standing in a river of words. I’ve been thirsty for the Bible, but the river passed by my feet so swiftly that I couldn’t ever grasp it; it just slipped through my fingers. Now, I feel like I am still in that river, with the water gushing all around me as I try to read the Bible, but when I read it with Joshua, he funnels all that water into a hose and turns down the spicket. So instead of fighting to stand against the water, I can sit down and drink it!”

There are many signs of Christian growth, but one that is most exciting to me is when a person becomes starved for the Word of God and wants to soak it up, not just the words, but the understanding of it. Manuel is a professing Christian, but struggles in his walk outside the walls of our home-church. Still, he has a true desire to know more of the Word of God and recognizes his need for spiritual growth. It is difficult for many Christians to understand how men can walk in repeated sin and yet desire the Word of God. However, that is right where sinful men need to be: their nose in the Word, confronted with the only One who knows no sin. As a man studies more and learns more of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will make the change that is needed in his life. Only Jesus, not the man, can convict a conscience and heal a sinful heart.