I wrote this for the Onething: Source website:
Wednesday afternoon, 3:00pm. I awake from my slumber having helped keep the fire going in the Prayer Room through the previous night and well into the morning. I’ve been waking up at three in the afternoon just about every day for the last five years. Every morning it’s the same routine—wake up, uncover my windows, drink my coffee, and read my Bible. Although on this day, that last point seems to be lacking a bit. As I sit in my dining room lethargically staring at pages from the book that has utterly reshaped my life, I wonder how something so significant can feel so dull.
It’s a simple thing, really. In fact, it’s Christianity 101, as well as the subject I intend to cover today: pray-reading the Word. The answer to your and my lethargy is Jesus. He is the Word.
In John 5:36-37, Jesus hits the Pharisees (and us readers) right between the eyes with this statement: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” In other words, the Word is only as interesting as your encounter with the Man who wrote it. It is not enough just to study the Word; we must give our heart to God and receive from Him as we read it.
The Pharisees lived and died by the Scripture. In fact, they spent every waking hour reading and discussing it. Still, Jesus rebuked them. Why? They had failed to connect with the living God who wrote the Word. I reflect on this today as I put down my Bible and begin to ask the Holy Spirit to reign in me. I choose to shake off my stupor by talking to the Lord about His Word.
Most Bible study seems lifeless because we spend all of our time trying to use our finite minds to explain infinite things. Our approach is wrong. Ecclesiastes wisely helps us along, “…For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. …But fear God” (Ecclesiastes 5:2,7). The answers to the Word’s equations are only going to be found in God. As much as I appreciate good theology and doctrinal study, it cannot replace the glory of dialoguing with the Lord about His Word. We cannot be too quick to come to conclusions, but we must let the conclusion come from the Throne in Heaven.
There are two broad categories of truth related to pray-reading the Bible. The first category consists of Scriptures that focus on exhorting us to believe God’s Word. These verses declare that God loves, forgives, leads, protects, or provides for us, etc. The second category are Scriptures that focus on exhorting us to obey God’s Word. These verses command us to bridle our tongue, serve one another, humble ourselves, give time and money to Him, etc. We actively dialogue with God by praying truths back to Him that exhort us to believe His Word and to obey His Word.
Let’s take a very well known verse and pray-read it. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This particular verse is exhorting us to believe that God loves the world so much that He gave us His Son. So first, take a deep breath and give your mind a second to calm its thoughts. Then thank God for loving the world. Pause. Then thank Him again, and pause. The pause is important. In fact, it’s the pause that makes this a dialogue instead of a monologue. In that pause, you are making room for Him to speak to you through the Holy Spirit. After that, move on to the next truth. “Father, thank You for giving Your Son to us.” Pause. Continue on through the passage.
Again, the answer to the apathy we feel when we try to read the Bible is Jesus, plain and simple. We just have to remind ourselves that He’s alive, and is actively living in us (Colossians 1:27). Once we remember that, then all we have to do is talk with Him about His Word. Writing this article helped me remember today. It’s now 5pm and I have a friend coming over for coffee—however, I’m feeling a rejuvenation to study James a little bit more. I might cancel with my friend and instead talk to the Lord about what His half-brother had to say in his book. Either way, lethargic bible studies are soon to be a thing of the past.
