“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1, KJV)
We were walking up to the checkout lines at the grocery store. I had headed to one line, but a very peppy and joyful curly-haired young woman, who was foreign and dark-skinned, popped out from another area near the cashier counters.
Smiling with laughter, she looked at me and said, “Come with me. I will check you out.” I steered the grocery cart in her direction. As we both walked toward the cashier counter, I looked at her name tag.
“How do you say your name?” I asked. She pronounced it. “What does your name mean?” I asked.
“Wisdom,” she proudly and joyously responded.
“Well, you know who has all wisdom?” I asked.
“Who does? she asked, intrigued.
“Who do you think? God”, I answered.
“You are right,” she said.
“Do you know God?” I asked.
“No. How can I know Him?” she asked.
“You must talk with Him,” I responded.
“I guess I have to pray,” she answered, as she put her hands together under her chin.
“You must know to whom you are praying,” I said.
“How do I know? How do I pray?” she asked.
A customer came to the line. “Wait, I want to know how to pray,” she said. I waited until she was done with the customer. She came around the cashier counter and stood in front of me, bright-eyed. “Okay, please tell me how to pray,” she said.
“You have to believe in the Son of God, Jesus. You have to ask Him to be your Saviour. Would you like to believe in Him and ask Him? Do you think that you are ready?” I asked.
Eagerly she said, “Yes, I am ready. Please tell me how to pray.”
She was so thirsty for truth. I could not respond as quickly as she was ready! I wanted to explain more to her, but she was so ready, and customers were approaching.
She prayed, believing in Jesus as the Son of God. She confessed with her mouth and believed in her heart that He died and rose again. She asked Him to be her personal Saviour. At His cross, she asked Him to forgive her sins and to take her life and use it for His glory.
After we prayed, she was silent for a moment. She looked at me with so much joy and with a peace that had entered her—the Spirit of the Living God—and said, “I just have to hug you! Thank you so much!”
We talked about reading the Bible. She said that she had one online. I gave her a DVD.
A customer was now ready, and she had to get to work. I looked at her, as I walked away. She was still silent. The Holy Spirit was doing the work in her heart.
“Abba, how happy this young woman was. Her dark skin, curly hair, and accent were so distinctive. I forgot to ask her where she was from. Because You were drawing her to Your Son and she was responding to You, I could hardly get the words out of my mouth before her request to know You. Jesus, what a blessing to meet someone so ready to know God. She was as if she had hopped out of a field into living water! Thank You, Holy Spirit, for helping me. When I least expected it, this young woman came toward me to check out my groceries, but little did we both know that she was running into the Saviour—Jesus, the Living Water!”