The look on her face is one of awe. Sheer wonder.
“It is hard to imagine,” she says. “I never dreamed God could be like that.”
I am watching mystery revealed. A startling front row view of how He works.
Spiritual food
We’re here to talk about next steps in her walk with the Lord. I share some basic ways to spend daily time with Him, in prayer and God’s Word.
She’s come out of another religion, so everything is new to her. Everything. I mention a book of the Bible, but there’s no recognition of it or its content. So we find it together in the Bible someone gave her.
I explain how the spiritual food of God’s Word is necessary to grow and thrive in His ways. And how we pray for wisdom (James 1:5) to understand the verses we read every day.
Read the Bible
We read the Bible and look at questions that will help her think about the passage.
• What does it say about God?
“Does Lord mean God?” she asks.
Yes. Also, whenever you see Jesus, Holy Spirit, Christ….
• What does it say about man?
• Is there a sin to confess or avoid?
We talk about why sin is in the world. About Adam and Eve and the snake. She notes how sin is in people from the start. “My young daughter lies. No one taught her to lie, but she lies.”
Yes, you’re right, we don’t have to teach our children how to sin—they come by it naturally.
• Is there a promise to claim or pray?
We look at Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” It becomes a prayer. Thank You, Lord, that you are my refuge and strength, You are a helper to me in times of trouble.
• Is there an example to follow (or if it’s a bad example, not follow)?
“The Bible has examples we shouldn’t follow?”
Yes, quite a few. The Bible is about real people. Some obeyed God. Some did not.
• Is there a command to obey?
Have you heard the greatest command that Jesus talked about? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And the second greatest? She knows, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Pray
Then I say that prayer is an ongoing conversation with God. Just talking with Him. And listening.
She asks, “But how do you begin?”
Begin?
“How do you start your prayer? I hear people pray and they speak so easily.”
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father who is in heaven, holy is Your name…”, I say. And usually, I begin my prayers, “Father” or “Lord.”
I describe the intimate name Jesus spoke of God, Abba. It’s like a beloved child sitting on his father’s lap and speaking to him. He holds us close.
“Languages all over the world have a name like that. It’s like ‘Papa’?” she asks.
Yes.
He sees her
And that’s when her face openly displays the look of wonder.
It’s the unknowable God made known. The far and distant God, up close. Personal.
The Holy God, high and lifted up, yet opening a way for her to know.
He sees her. He hears her.
He loves her with an everlasting love.
His ways
As her story unfolds in our times together, it confirms that His ways are a mystery. They are higher than our ways. And surprising.
It’s a story of His pursuit across years.
Truth spoken by the highly unlikely in her home country.
The English name she chose, not knowing of its significant meaning for believers—“I liked the sound of it.”
Kindness and unconditional love extended by the faithful in the country where she now lives.
And a dream in which she saw herself say, clear as day, “I surrender to Jesus.”
Mystery revealed
Driving home afterward, I speak aloud my gratitude to the Father through tears. “Father…!”
Seeing Him through her eyes is refreshing my heart with reverence and awe.
What a privilege to walk with Him and watch His mysterious ways revealed.
“So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, being rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.”
(Colossians 2:6-7)
What about you?
Have you been startled by the ways of the Father? What are some ways He has spoken to you or those you know? Have you thanked Him recently for being your tender, loving Father? The God who is near?