Bible Reading Tips – 3 Great Prayers to Pray When Reading the Bible

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Wayne Davies

When you read the Bible, it’s always a good idea to pray – before, during and after you open the Word of God. The Bible is a supernatural book and you’ll need supernatural help to read it and apply it.

The purpose of this article is to introduce you to how to pray biblically while reading the Bible.  Specifically, what should you pray about?  To answer that question, we turn to Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, and the passage of Scripture most devoted to Scripture, since almost every one of its 176 verses is about the Bible.

The psalmist includes many prayers in Psalm 119.  Here are 3 great prayers to pray while reading the Bible.  They are short and simple, but don’t let their brevity fool you – they are powerful and effective.

1.Thank you.
Some of the best prayers you can pray are the shortest. There are only two words in this prayer, but isn’t this a great way to start your conversation with God?

Of course, you should always let God know what it is you are thanking Him for, and that is what the psalmist does in Psalm 119:62 – “At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.”

He is thanking God for His Word. Why not make this prayer a daily habit, for every day is a day of Thanksgiving for the Christian. We have so much for which to be thankful, and should not the Bible be at or near the top of that list?

2.Teach me.
Here’s yet another two-word prayer. And it’s the most common prayer of Psalm 119, for it appears 10 times in this chapter!  (Check out verses 12, 26, 29, 33, 64, 66, 68, 108, 124, 135.)  Isn’t that amazing?

The psalmist comes to God with an attitude of humility and dependence. He wants God to instruct Him. This is how we come to God, with faith in His ability to provide the guidance and direction we need to live a life pleasing to Him.

And he wants to be taught the Word of God – 7 times he says “teach me your decrees“; 2 times he says “teach me your law“; and on one occasion he says “teach me knowledge and good judgment”.

3.Give me understanding.
The third prayer is only three words. Again, a good prayer need not be long!

This prayer is similar to the “teach me” prayer, as the psalmist repeatedly wants God to be the source of his ability to understand what he reads in the Word.

The psalmist likes this prayer almost as much as the “teach me” prayer. Four times he prays, “Give me understanding” (verses 23, 73, 144, 169).  And verse 27 says, “Cause me to understand the way of your precepts”. Note also verse 125, “Give me discernment that I may understand your statutes”.

One final comment about the “give me understanding” prayer – in verse 34, note how the psalmist wants understanding for a specific purpose. “Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart”.

He doesn’t ask for understanding for the sake of understanding. Comprehension is never an end in itself. Rather, he seeks to understand the Bible so that he can obey it.

My Christian friend, may this be how we approach God when we read the Bible. Let these three prayers be the cry of your heart as you spend time with Him in the Word.

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Bible Reading Tips – What Is The Most Forgotten Bible Reading Method? (Start Doing This Today)

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Wayne Davies

There are many valid and effective Bible reading methods. The purpose of this article is to introduce you to the #1 most often overlooked and forgotten method of reading the Bible.

But first, a question: When was the last time you received a personal letter (or email) from a dear friend or loved one?

Do you remember the anticipation you felt as you opened the letter/email and began to read? You couldn’t read it fast enough, could you?

Now, stop and think about this:  Did you read the letter in its entirety, or did you read only the first few sentences and put the letter down with the intent of finishing it later?

Perhaps you are thinking, “What a stupid question . . . Of course I read the whole thing!”

Now, stop and think about what happened some 2,000 years ago when the Christians living in Ephesus received a letter from the Apostle Paul.  Do you think there was a buzz of excitement as these believers gathered around to hear what their spiritual father had to say to them?  At the time this letter was written, Paul was imprisoned in Rome, but he kept in touch with the many churches he founded by writing letters – 13 of those letters have been preserved as part of Holy Scripture, and he undoubtedly penned many others that did not make it into the Bible.

Imagine being a Christian in first century Ephesus . . . when you come to the weekly prayer meeting at your neighbor’s house, the church leaders are quite excited – “Paul sent us a letter!  He’s still in jail but he sent us a letter!”

So all the believers listen intently as someone begins to read the letter:

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The words just leap off the parchment and into your heart. Yes, that sounds like Paul all right.  He called us “saints” and “the faithful in Christ Jesus.”  Oh, how sweet those words sound to your ears.  It’s like he’s right there, in your midst, the words of truth flowing from his mouth with that unique combination of humility and boldness you came to love during the three years he spent in Ephesus as your spiritual leader.

The reader continues: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Yes!  Yes!  The believers all around you are now filled with joy.  We have so many spiritual blessings in Jesus our Savior; we have so much to praise God for!  Paul spent many hours explaining those blessings to us when he was here – oh, it will be great to hear him teach those truths again today through this letter!

But suddenly the reader stops and decides that is enough.  “Come back tomorrow night and I’ll pick it up where I left off.  I don’t want to read the whole letter tonight.  That’s all for now.”

OK, you can quit pretending you are a first century Ephesian and come back to the 21st century.  Perhaps my example above was a bit farfetched – you don’t think the Ephesians would have read just the first few sentences of Paul’s letter, do you?  Of course not!

They would have read the entire letter, right?

In fact, wouldn’t they have read the letter in its entirety . . . in one sitting?

My friend, when was the last time you read one of Paul’s letters in its entirety, in one sitting? Have you ever read any book of the Bible in its entirety, in one sitting?

When Paul wrote his letters, they were written with the intention of being read in their entirety, in one sitting.  So when we read Paul’s letters, shouldn’t we read them in the way they were intended to be read?

If you’ve never done this before, I encourage you to try it today. Start with Ephesians or one of the other shorter New Testament letters, and together we can bring this forgotten Bible reading method back into the memory of the 21st century church.

For a more in-depth explanation of this approach to Bible reading, see my book, “The Forgotten Bible Reading Method: How to Read and Understand the Bible in 5 Simple Steps” on Amazon.

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Are You Making These 3 Big Mistakes When Reading the Bible? (What to Do Instead)

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Wayne Davies

Reading the Bible is critical to your spiritual growth. The Word of God is our daily bread, and without it you’ll become a weak and ineffective Christian.

So it’s vital to spend quality time in the Bible every day. To improve your Bible reading, be sure to avoid these 3 big mistakes.

Bible Reading Mistake #1 – Not praying before reading.
Perhaps you are so eager to get into the Word, you forget to ask God for help to understand what you are about to read. This is easy to do.

What to do instead: Get into the habit of praying before reading.
Your prayer doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Here’s a good one to start with — Psalm 119:18 simply says “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

Isn’t that a great prayer? Why not make it your own.

You have two sets of eyes – one is physical and the other is spiritual. And we need God’s help to focus our spiritual eyes so we can “see” (understand) His truth. Amen?

Bible Reading Mistake #2 – Not actually reading the Bible.
Here’s a question that may seem a bit strange: When you sit down to read the Bible, are you reading the Bible?  Or are you reading a devotional book instead?

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m all for reading good books about the Bible.  But a good devotional is no substitute for the Bible itself.

What to do instead: Make sure you are spending time actually reading the Bible!

A true believer has a love for the Word that compels him/her to hunger and thirst for God’s truth.

Again, it’s OK to read Bible study guides and commentaries and other books about spiritual growth. There are so many good ones out there! But don’t forget to simply open the Book and read the Bible every day.

Reality Check – Do you have an appetite for God’s Word? If not, ask God to give it to you. He would love to do that for you!

Bible Reading Mistake #3 – Random reading of favorite verses only.
When you read the Bible, how do you go about it? Do you have a handful of favorite verses or passages that you tend to read repeatedly?

Please don’t limit yourself to familiar passages. You are really short-changing yourself if you do. God wrote the Bible so that we would read all of it!

What to do instead: Read the Bible one book at a time.
Don’t forget that the Bible is a book of books.  There are 66 books in the Bible, and each is part of the One Story that God is telling us.

But each book is also a complete story or message in and of itself, and each book was written to be read in its entirety, and even in one sitting (like the shorter books of the New Testament written by Paul, Peter, James and John).

So I encourage you to read one book at a time, each one in its entirety. One simple method is to read through the 27 New Testament books, one by one.  If you read a chapter a day, it will take about 9 months.  If you read 3 chapters a day, it will take 3 months.

So set a goal to read the entire New Testament within a certain period of time.  Wouldn’t that be cool?

And you’ll cultivate a love for God’s Word that will have life-changing results.  For as you spend quality time in the Word, you are spending quality time with the Creator of the universe, and you’ll find yourself caught up in the wonder of His love demonstrated through His Son Jesus.

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Bible Reading: What Is So Wonderful About Reading The Bible? (Psalm 119:18)

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Wayne Davies

Have you ever prayed this prayer?

“Open my eyes that I may see
Wonderful things in your law.”

This prayer was written about 3,000 years ago. You can find it in Psalm 119:18. It’s a request to experience wonderful things by reading the Bible.

The psalmist expected to see something wonderful by reading God’s Word, which he calls “law” or “instruction”. The Bible is a book of instruction – it teaches us many things about God and ourselves and our world.

When you read the Bible, do you experience something wonderful? What should we be seeing in the Bible that is so wonderful? Here are 3 places to start:

1. God the Father.
God is the main subject of the Bible. He is revealed in the pages of Scripture in all His glory – who He is, what He is like, what He has done, and what He promises to do in the future for you and me. From Genesis to Revelation, if you are looking for God, you’ll find Him there. He wants you to know Him and has gone to great lengths in His Word to tell you about Himself.

2. God the Son.
God has revealed Himself most clearly and magnificently through His Son Jesus, who is the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). God is the ultimate communicator, and He came up with the most mind-boggling way to unveil Himself to us – by becoming a man.

Go to the New Testament and read the four books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for a detailed account of the birth, life, miracles and teachings of Jesus, culminating with His death, resurrection and ascension.  Then read the letters of Paul, Peter, James and John to understand the meaning of it all.  Next, dive into Revelation, the last book of the Bible, to read what happens when Jesus returns a second time to bring this world to an end and to usher in His eternal kingdom.

3. God the Spirit.
Before He returned to heaven, Jesus promised to send His Spirit to be our Counselor and Comforter. And sure enough, that’s what happened!  Go to the book of Acts to read about the coming of the Holy Spirit and how He transformed a small group of Christ-followers into a dynamic band of Spirit-filled believers who “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

Does the Bible contain wonderful things?  Yes! God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are to be found on every page – what could be more wonderful than that?

Bible reading tip – When you read any part of the Bible, always ask yourself this question: What does this passage teach me about God?

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How to Jumpstart Your Bible Reading with Psalm 119

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Wayne Davies

Are you looking for a simple way to jumpstart your Bible reading efforts? If you ever struggle to find the desire or the energy to sit down and spend quality time in God’s Word, please consider this approach – read Psalm 119 and you are likely to see an increase in your appetite for God’s truth.

Psalm 119 is one of the most unique chapters in the Bible.  It is certainly the longest chapter, having 176 verses. This psalm is divided into 22 eight-verse stanzas. Now notice that each stanza has a title.  Stanza 1 (verses 1-8) is labeled “Aleph”; stanza 2 (verses 9-16) is entitled “Beth”; and so forth.

Each of these stanza titles is one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. And each verse in all 22 stanzas begins with that particular Hebrew letter.  So, all the verses of stanza 1 begin with the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, “Aleph”.  This is known as an acrostic psalm, similar to the assignment your teacher gave you in school to take the letters of the word “thanksgiving” and write down 12 words about this holiday that begin with “t”, “h”, “a”, etc.

Now, here’s the most amazing thing about Psalm 119 – virtually every verse is about the Bible.  So you’ll find many synonyms for the Bible here. Take a look at the first stanza and you’ll find “law” (verse 1), “statutes” (verse 2), “precepts” (verse 4), “decrees” (verse 5), and “commands” (verse 6).

Let’s focus on the task at hand – how to cultivate a love for the Word: for the next 22 days, read one eight-verse stanza from Psalm 119.  Then start a journal and write down your answers to the following questions each day: 1) Of the eight verses, which one is your favorite? Write out the verse by hand.  2) Why did you pick that particular verse? Be specific and write down why this verse speaks to you more than the others. What do you like about this verse? What does it teach you about God and/or His Word?  3) Now write out a prayer that expresses thanksgiving to God for what He just taught you, or perhaps you’ll want to ask for help to put a new teaching into practice in some way.

If you are new to Bible reading, this will be a wonderful way to get intimately acquainted with the treasure chest of truth to be found in these pages. Reading Psalm 119 will stimulate your hunger for God as you interact and meditate and think and write and pray.

And if you’ve been reading the Bible for years and are eager to take your love for the Word to a new level, this exercise will draw you closer to the One whose love for you is unending, and whose truth is inexhaustible.

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5 Compelling Reasons to Read the Bible Today

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Wayne Davies

Are you looking for motivation to read your Bible today?  There are many good reasons to do so; here are five. Any one of them should provide the inspiration you need to take action and follow through on your desire for some quality Bible-time.

Read the Bible today because . . .

1. The Bible is the authentic and authoritative Word of God.
Imagine if Jesus Christ knocked on your front door and offered to come inside and have a face-to-face conversation with you. Wouldn’t that be incredible? When you read the Bible that is precisely what can happen.  God Himself speaks to you.  These are His words and He is oh so eager to share them with you.  “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).

2. The Bible teaches us how to grow spiritually.
Do you ever feel like you’ve reached a plateau on your spiritual journey? Are you stuck in neutral?  The Christian life is meant to be a life of change, a never-ending process of increasing Christ-likeness. Sure, there are days when you take a step or two backwards, but overall, do you see growth over the past year, five years, ten years?  If not, could it be due to a lack of spiritual food?  Like a newborn baby, Peter says, “crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

3. The Bible gives us the power to overcome any sin.
We all have our weaknesses. There is always room for improvement.  Is there a particular area of your life that you know needs to change? It could be a particular behavior or a bad attitude.  Do you get angry too easily and overreact in certain situations?  Whatever the problem, God’s Word can provide the solution. This is why the psalmist could say “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

4. The Bible prepares us to live successfully in this life.
God told Joshua that if he meditated day and night on “this Book”, and then did everything written in it, he would “be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8). Let’s not go overboard here and take this promise as a blank check. Verses like this should be viewed more as a prescription than a prediction. Certainly spiritual success is in view – a life lived in the light of God’s Word will lead to the love, joy and peace that only God can give, regardless of our circumstances.

5. The Bible provides the direction we need to get to heaven in the next life.
Surely this life is not all there is. And if the Bible is true and we will live forever somewhere, doesn’t it make sense to devote much energy ensuring we know what happens to us when we die and where we will spend eternity? Forever is a very long time. How many of us have spent more time planning our summer vacations than our eternal destiny? Have you ever wondered “What will happen to me when I die?” Read the Bible and find out. As Paul said “the Holy Scriptures . . . are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

 

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Protected: Why The Gospel About Jesus Is Good News (Mark 1:1)

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Wayne Davies

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Bible Reading: Have You Read the World’s Best-Selling Book?

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Wayne Davies

Have you read the most-printed book of all time? According to Wikipedia, that book would be the Bible, which is at the top of their “List of most-printed single-volume books” with 5 billion plus copies.

For the record, the Quran comes in second at 4 billion. Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” is fifth on the list with 200 million copies. J.R.R. Tolkien has two works in the Top Ten – “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” (eight and nine, respectively).

The Guinness World Records website agrees with Wikipedia – “there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book.”
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction/

The question I have for you today is this: Have you ever read the #1 best-selling and most widely published book in history? If not, I’d like to encourage you give it a try. And here’s an easy way to do so in a relatively short period of time.

Like any book, it’s important that you read the whole thing. Depending on what version you choose, the Bible is around 1,200 pages long. So if you’d like to read the Bible in a year, all you have to do is read 3-4 pages a day.

But let’s be a bit more realistic and assume that it’s unlikely you’ll read the Bible every day for the next 365 days. So how about this goal: you read the Bible five days a week for the next 50 weeks. This gives you a little breathing room, right?

Here’s the math on this approach: 1,200 pages divided by 250 days equals about 5 pages per day. That’s all it takes – five pages a day, five days a week, and you’ll have read the whole Bible in a year. What do you say? Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

If your goal is to read the Bible in a year, check your version to see how many pages it has. Whatever the amount, divide it by 250 to get the approximate number of pages you’ll need to read, assuming you go with the five days a week plan.

Of course, if you’d like to take less time, say six months instead of twelve, just double the number of pages per day.

One final comment: there’s no need to wait until January 1 to start. You can begin today! Any day is a good day to read the Bible, the best-selling book of all time.

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Protected: Does It Matter Whether We Believe Jesus Is The Christ? (Mark 1:1)

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Wayne Davies

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Evangelism: Do You Tell People About Hell?

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Wayne Davies

Here’s a simple question: When doing evangelism, do you tell people about hell?

When you share the gospel with a non-Christian, do you explain the meaning of sin and its ultimate, most devastating consequences? This is critical. This is essential. This is biblical evangelism. If we aren’t telling people about hell, we aren’t doing evangelism the way Jesus and the apostles did it.

Consider these verses:

In John 3, when talking with Nicodemus, Jesus says, “whoever believes in him will not perish” (v. 16). Then he says “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

In Luke 13, Jesus makes the same statement two times: “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (verses 3 and 5).

Consider the well-known “Sermon on the Mount”. The following statements also come from the mouth of Jesus: “But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:22) “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) And in the next verse – “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:30).

Later in Matthew we read this statement, again from the lips of Christ: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

A few years ago I was in a Bible study with a group of men. We were discussing evangelism. One man began discussing the evangelistic methods of a particular preacher. He said, “Yeah, he uses the old fire and brimstone approach. Can you believe it?”

In other words, telling people about hell is no longer valid. It’s old-fashioned, out of style, and inappropriate for today’s world. Things are different now; people won’t respond positively to the gospel if we tell them about hell. It will “turn them off”. It just won’t work. Talking about hell is too “negative”; our message needs to be “positive” if we want to reach the lost.

What do you think? Jesus told people about hell. Shouldn’t we?

I pray you’ll take a close look at the content of the preaching of Jesus and the apostles. Read the New Testament carefully and you’ll see that hell was an integral part of the gospel message. So I challenge you today to consider this: if you’re not telling people about hell, you’re not telling them the biblical gospel and you are not doing biblical evangelism.

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