Being a student at a Bible college, it is really easy to become flippant about the Bible. Or worse, to become dogmatic about minor points. Both of these rob joy from the life of the hungering soul. My prayers have been against this.
Instead, my prayer has been "Lord, reveal Yourself to me as I study... Help me find You in the midst of writing this paper... reading this chapter... studying this passage..." It is absolutely amazing when this begins to happen.
I didn't realize the depth of God's answer to my prayers until yesterday. I was meeting with one of my profs - a brilliant mind who I respect immeasurably - and he asked me why I was interested in Ezra. I'm not even sure why he asked this question; he knew I was writing a paper on Ezra. But I answered him anyway.
It started with a paper. But its not even about the paper anymore. Its... personal now. I want to understand it and I'm not going to be satisfied until I have a grip on it.
Turns out, I will write a paper on Ezra. A 15-page or longer commentary in which I examine the text without the aid of a commentary. In that paper I will present all the problems (or rather the questions) that arise in Ezra. But I will refrain from drawing any conclusions. The conclusions are my own. And, to be truthful, I will need more time to develop my conclusions.
I'm sure those conclusions will come out. They'll probably be a vital part of my application paper on Ezra (a separate paper which comes a week later). But the prayer is coming true before my eyes... and its so much better than anything I could have dreamed.
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