the greenest grass around

I have had years where I attempt to read the Bible, years where I use devotionals, and other years when I have read through one page to the next. But no matter how I read through the Bible, it’s not as fulfilling if I am not reading with a purpose or intentionally.

This year I decided to be more intentional about my Bible reading. So I researched and talked to several people about their Bible reading process.

I decided to pray intentionally before I read the Bible this year. But how should I pray? Remember that each of you may need to swap or add prayer depending on what you need.

Prayer 1: Ask God to open your heart and mind to hear Him speaking to you.

Ezk 11:19-20 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

It is easy for me to breeze through my Bible reading if I am not careful. The purpose of reading God’s word is to learn and grow in a deeper relationship with Him. Think of it as having a conversation with someone when you are not really listening, but you are pretending to, so you say “yeah” and “okay” every so often. When you genuinely attempt to build a relationship with anyone, you put effort into listening to and getting to know them. It is the same thing when we read the Bible. The Bible is God’s living word. We want to read, learn, meditate, and hear all God’s stuff for us in his Words.

Asking God to open your heart and mind to His word will help guide you as you read. It will direct you and help you be more prepared to hear from God while reading.

Prayer 2: Ask God to help you understand His teachings.

Psalms 119: 27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders.

There are several places in the New Testament alone where Jesus says that not everyone can understand his teachings. We can also look at the parable of the seeds. Many people hear his teachings (or, in our case, read them), but not all will internalize His words and truly understand.

By asking God to help you understand His words, you are 1. Showing God that you are genuinely interested in learning from His word. 2. Focusing on a small section. Focusing on smaller sections alone can help you understand what you are reading. It also will give you time to meditate and ponder the verses you read for the day.

Prayer 3: Ask God for wisdom.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

When I ask God for wisdom, I ask Him to help me take what I have read and apply it to my life situations. I ask Wisdom to use what I am reading as a reminder or a tool. For example, I could be reading and reading something that helps me with a situation I or someone I know is going through. I also find this helpful because lots of things happen during the day. By asking God for wisdom, he may call attention to a verse that will help me later that day or week. Wisdom = life application.

Prayer 4: Ask God to help you put His words into action.

James 1:22 Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived.

Lastly, ask God to help you put His teaching into action. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” In Chapter 25, Matthew says, “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

It is vital to the Christian life to put God’s words into action. Again, it is easy to read the Bible and not apply anything we have read. But God specifically tells us to do the opposite. We are created for the glory of God and to bring glory and honor to Him and His kingdom.

Asking God to help you put his teaching into action does not have to be scary. You do not have to aggressively confront people. It can be as simple as paying it forward, saying a prayer over someone, checking in on a friend, or just being kind to everyone. If you ask God to help you apply his teaching, He will show you what you should do. 🙂

Let me know what you do to focus on biblical teaching and life application. I would love to hear what you do. I pray you to spend quality time with God and His word this week.