Read with the Heart

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19, NASB.

After English class Wen*, one of our students, stayed back because she had more questions about the Bible. We had given Wen a Bible a few months ago, and knew that she had finished the Gospels and was now reading in Acts.

She said, as she has said to us many other times, “I read the Bible, but so much of it I do not understand.”

My husband, Howard explained, “Wen, you will never understand the Bible until you personally know Jesus.”

Wen pondered this a moment and then replied, “You mean I’m reading the Holy Bible with my mind, but not with my heart?” That was exactly it! We couldn’t have expressed it any better. But Wen is not ready to follow yet. She continues to read, and we continue to pray that she will meet Jesus in those pages so that she can read God’s word with her heart, and not just with her mind.

*Names changed for security reasons. Excerpt from the newsletter of a Last Frontier worker in the Pacific Rim.

Pray that:

Wen will become a follower of Jesus.

God will draw other students from these English classes to Himself.

Wen’s people will have their hearts softened by the Holy Spirit to hear and respond to the Gospel.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.