Why You Should STOP Reading Your Bible!

 

So, who wants to share something God’s been teaching you from His Word this week?

Ever sat in a small group and listened to the silence that follows that question? Watch the gazes shift as everyone fumbles through their thoughts wondering, “what have I even read this week?”

Or perhaps the confrontation is more personal, directed specifically at you by a friend who’s genuinely interested. And you know you’ve dutifully read your Bible every day this week. Why does it feel like trying to squeeze water from a stone to remember something, anything from  Scripture you read recently?

Maybe it’s time to stop reading your Bible.

**gasp**

Stick with me . . . don’t pass out!

Reading Scripture is great. But it’s just the beginning. You have to do something with what you read.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

James 1:22

When we read Scripture, we take in knowledge, wisdom, exhortation and more. We may be convicted, enlightened, encouraged or challenged. What are we going to do with this life-giving truth? We need to discuss these things with God!

So let me challenge you with an idea that my pastor recently shared with our church family.

STOP reading your Bible . . . and talk with God about what you’ve read.

There you go. Don’t stop reading your Bible all together! Just stop with enough time to talk to God about what you’ve read.

Do you have just 10 minutes for Bible reading – stop after 7-8 minutes. Got 30 minutes – stop after 25. Have an entire hour – save the last 10-15 minutes. Pray through, pray about what you’ve read.

But shouldn’t I pray before I read? Ask God for understanding? To give me a teachable spirit?

Sure! But don’t stop there. Don’t just listen and walk away, forgetting what you heard. Talk with God about what He’s said. Maybe you don’t get it yet . . . ask for help. Or you’re convicted but not quite ready to make a change . . . confess your weakness, beg for mercy and strength. Thank God for His encouragement. Claim His promises. Request wisdom and boldness to apply His principles.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

James 1:23-24

Benefits of Praying After Reading Your Bible

• communing with God – you’ll develop a closer relationship with your Creator and Savior
• rehearsing truth – it will keep spiritual reality in the front of your mind
• interacting with truth – you’ll practice making application
• internalizing truth – it will help you remember what you read
• practicing trust – you’ll express reliance on God and His promises

Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that the Word of God is living and active. It is the means God uses to communicate to His people today. The place we find truth that the Holy Spirit uses to change our hearts. This can only happen when we spend more time with it than what’s required to run our eyes over the pages.

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”

James 1:25

So please, keep reading your Bible!

Then stop before you rush off to answer the calls of the day and discuss with God what you’ve read. Take time to treasure His truth, store it up, let it change you. Keep it close to your heart where you can access it quickly any time you need it.

Thy Word have I treasured in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.

Psalm 119:11

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Abi

Hi, I'm Abi, an ordinary wife and mom serving an extraordinary God. I spend my days serving my husband and the 5 colorful, noisy kids we've adopted. I'm still learning to delight in the daily challenges God sends my way and am glad to have you join me on that journey. I want you to know that nothing in real-life comes out as neatly and cleanly as it appears to in writing!

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