Confession: I've been holding out on you. This is a journal entry from my time in India that continues to resonate on the race, and I've finally decided to share it.
I’m teaching in front of our church on Sunday morning, and before I know it, these words are coming out of my mouth: “It’s gonna burn down each one of your houses, and your whole village if you let it.” I look back at my team, whose faces have been tensed with worried confusion by my illustration. As I continue speaking, I pray that the Holy Spirit/my translator will make my teaching encouraging to the church, and not threatening… Anyway, here’s the scripture I was referring to:
“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:29
This has been one of my favorite verses for a while, and has become more and more relevant throughout the Race. I felt led to share it with the church of Indian believers last Sunday as part of my teaching about the importance of reading the Word. I taught that if we want to know the will of God for our lives, all we need to do is open our hearts and open our Bibles! That book is God-breathed! (2 Tim. 3:16) Concerning my somewhat fiery promise from earlier: well, we can only hope that the Holy Spirit/translator combination will help that one get across.
I’ve been reminded of my need for the Word over and over while living in India. Every day, our team goes to a new village, visiting houses to share the gospel and pray for people. Many of these houses are adorned with pictures of flamboyant blue man monkey gods, often beside a picture of Jesus. The people are almost always receptive and eager to have us white people lay hands on them, asking for blessings and prayer for a variety of things.
As I lay my hand on their forehead and begin to pray, some thoughts begin to creep in: I’m praying to God for a person I know very little about, in a language that they don’t understand. This means that I am literally just talking to God, because my words mean nothing to them. What the heck am I supposed to say? They say they don’t need prayer for anything specific, but here I am, praying for them. This person may follow the Lord, but they most likely follow Hindu gods. This person may be praying to Jesus with me, but they’re probably just hoping for blessings that come along with the touch of an American. Needless to say, if I’m dwelling on any of these thoughts, I’m in trouble. These thoughts lead to doubts about my effectiveness and flood my heart with apathy, stopping me from speaking out and praying for anything.
This ministry has given me a renewed hunger for the Word of God. I want to have it flowing in and flowing out of me. When praying over these people, I want to pray God’s perfect will over their life, not just meaningless words. I want to know the will of God and His heart for these people. I want each person that I pray for to forget that I am there, and see Jesus instead. When our team leaves, I pray that they have heard from their Father in Heaven.
