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Why Should I Read My Bible?

Readings / April 11, 2016

Why should I read my Bible? Perhaps you’ve asked yourself that question. Perhaps you’ve read the Bible in the past without seeing much benefit. If you haven’t made Bible study a constant part of your quiet time with the Lord, I encourage you to do it.

You see, the Bible is truly a supernatural book. No matter what is happening in your life at any given time, you can open the Bible every day and the Spirit of God will quicken to you the words you need to empower and sustain you. He will direct you to the scriptures that will move you toward the fulfillment of your dreams.

Yet, as vital as the Bible is to your success, God won’t make you read it. He will let you choose your own level of faith. He’ll let you go as far with His Word as you choose. It depends on how much or how little attention you give it—how much you keep it in front of your eyes and in your ears—and whether you receive it, believe it and act on it. You can either have faith that’s strong enough to make your biggest dreams a reality, or you can limp along on just enough faith to get you into heaven.

As God said in Deuteronomy 30:14-16: “The word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil. [If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which] I command you today, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you” (The Amplified Bible).

One thing about God is He doesn’t stutter. He just tells it like it is, and this is how it is: You have a choice. God has given His people His Word and through it He has set before them life and good, blessing and cursing. Now it’s up to us to decide what we’re going to do about it. What do you choose?

Do you want a successful, faith-filled Christian life that is bigger and better than anything you could come up with on your own? Then you need to read your Bible. Study it. Memorize it. Put it in your heart and mind every day. Make your quiet time with the Lord the most treasured time in your day. Why should you read your Bible? Because it is the foundation for the life God fashioned just for you!

Written with permission from Kenneth Copeland Ministries©

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What Is Prayer?

So what is prayer? Prayer is not an emotional release or an escape route. It is much more than just asking God for a favor. And it is most definitely not a religious exercise. God responds to faith, so just repetition and beautiful words do not get the attention of God. Your aim in prayer is to be effective. Effective praying is the key to success in every area of life.

Prayer is an attitude. It’s communicating and fellowshipping with God. You can live in an attitude of prayer every moment, being in constant contact with God. You may be thinking, But I can’t spend all my time in prayer! Yes, you can! In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Apostle Paul instructed the Church to “pray without ceasing.” Luke 18:1 says, “Men ought always to pray, and not faint.” The No. 1 priority in God’s heart is to spend quality time with us daily. We need to be able to hear His voice.

The more time you spend in God’s presence, the more you will act and think like Him. He needs people who will pray—not just when they happen to think about it, but every day. Your natural human reaction to the call for prayer may be to say, “Hey, I hardly have time to handle the crises in my life right now. I can’t afford to spend any more time in prayer!” But the truth is, you can’t afford not to.

It’s when we begin to make prayer our priority—to lay aside the natural things and take up the things of God—that the glory of God will be reflected in us. It’s just a matter of rearranging your priorities. The Lord will show you exactly what you need to do to drop certain things out of your life that steal your time with Him. He will also tell you to do certain things that will help you get in the habit of spending time with Him. You can create good habits in God the same way you can create poor habits. If you’ll habitually apply yourself to making contact with Him daily through prayer and reading the Bible, it will become a way of life to you.