NEEDED: LADIES’ BIBLE CLASS
(One for men, that is!)

There are those times when a light-hearted, passing remark really says something. That was the case recently at our assembly here in Denton when one of our sisters, telling me about our church’s ladies’ Bible class, said: “What our men need is a good ladies’ Bible class!”

I had asked the sister what they had studied at their last session (They do it all themselves, no men), and she told me that they never got around to their planned lesson. “We prayed the entire two hours,” she told me, as a matter of fact. Jesting with her somewhat, as I often do, I chided her for praying so much. “What on earth do you have to pray about that takes two hours?,” I complained, knowing full well that I was talking about the most prayer-conscious group that I’ve ever known among Churches of Christ.

That is when she nailed me with what I already knew all too well. You men need a good ladies Bible class! That was her way of saying that we men need to pray much, much more than we do. We never let prayer interfere with our Bible study. In fact prayer, which we of course believe in, is rather perfunctorily disposed of and we get down to what really matters, the lesson at hand. Anybody knows that you pray for a few minutes and then study an hour. That is the way we’ve always done it. But not the sisters—not those sisters here in Denton, Texas. If the needs at hand call for it, they pray and keep on praying.

“What were you praying about?,” I asked again. For our husbands!, she answered laying it on just a little. I am still hearing her, as the British say, and I have to concede that we men in the congregation do not really know much about how to pray, or so it seems. Nor are we as spiritual as we should be. We need somebody to pray for us! As an elder in our congregation I am much concerned that we restore the altar to the home where “the priestly father,” to quote Burns, opens the sacred Book and teaches his children, and where the mother demonstrates that it is the quiet and gentle spirit that is of great price in the sight of God. Children read our values better than we think, and they are not deceived into what we really consider important. They see that our values are what we give our time and attention to.

When our sisters pray for two hours at a time, it is prayer in the broader sense. They share their problems with each other, and they discuss the needs of others. They receive prayer requests from far and wide, and some women come because they know their needs will be heard and they will be prayed for. Sitting in a circle, each lady is free to say what she will, to lay bare her soul, and even to weep if she wants to. That is how they spend hours praying. They are thinking of dividing into two groups so they can meet still more needs and pray still more. Moreover, some of them go into homes and pray for people who are hurting.

Do not all of our churches need this kind of ladies’ Bible class, especially for the men!—The Editor

I rejoice to know and feel that 1 have the good wishes, the prayers, and the hopes of myriads of Christians in all denominations.—Alexander Campbell, just before his debate with Robert Owen, infidel, 1829.

While we condemn others for having a standard other than the Scriptures, we make our own interpretations a standard if we are not very careful.—Reuel Lemmons, Firm Foundation, Oct. 30, 1979