Who is Teaching You?

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. 

(John 14:26, HCSB)

I recently encountered a teacher who began preparation to lead his Bible study session about 2 hours prior to entering the room to teach. Obviously this concerned me. When we approach Bible teaching as an event, we forget that there is Someone, the Holy Spirit, who is longing to teach us. It is not that the Spirit can't use a lesson that is prepared quickly and rather haphazardly. We know He can. It is that we miss out on personal blessings and short-change our Bible study classes when we hurriedly put together  Bible studies in order to complete the task of teaching on a weekly basis.

As as Bible study teacher, give the Spirit time to teach you:

• Meditate on the Scripture focus for the upcoming Bible study. 
• Spend time in prayer asking God to teach you. 
• Wrestle with the truth of the passage.

Meditate, pray, wrestle: These are three activities that provide opportunity for you to be taught by the Holy Spirit.

There is another promise in these passages - He will remind you of everything. If you only "teach" to fulfill an event, will it really be something that becomes embedded in your own heart, soul, and mind? Is it something you will quickly forget? Take the test, what was your Bible study about four weeks ago? Three weeks ago? Two weeks ago? How did God use it to change your life? Can you remember? If not, maybe the Teacher hasn't been provided the opportunity to teach you!

Oh God, may we spend time meditating, praying, and wrestling with Your Word so that Your Spirit can teach us. May what You teach us be used to teach others.