Articles
What Are We Doing?
Do we read the Bible? Do we pray? These sound like a couple of silly questions. However, I want us to think about our response. Most people think the answer is simple, but it is not. Let me provide us with something to chew on before we go on any further. A week has 168 hours. Schedules vary, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that work is Monday-Friday and contains an 8-hour shift. Take away an additional 8 hours for sleep. What do we do with the remaining 8 hours in the day? What about Saturday and Sunday? There are a million things to do in a given week. Where does one have the time to do everything? Eating, bathing, time with spouse and children, and, if possible, alone time. Where does God fit into the schedule? Is He at the top, or do we “fit Him in if we can”?
In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 68% professing Christians pray daily.1 That means that a whopping 32% of professing Christians do make time for daily prayer. Scripture has a lot to say about prayer, including that it is to be done continually (cf. 1 Thess. 5:17). A person’s focus needs to be always on godliness. Prayer is not something that is a last resort to life’s issues. It is one of the most cherished privileges that people have been given. People can share their joys and sorrows with the Creator of the universe. A universal problem is that people choose to abuse or neglect this precious gift. This irreverent behavior is as if we were spitting in God’s face. This sounds grotesque, but we need to consider the severity of our actions and the consequences, including not being on regular speaking terms with our dear Father.
The common, and dismal, lack of prayer in believer’s lives is compounded by the absence of regular Bible study. Remember Paul’s words to Timothy, “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). In today’s society, those words appear to a great extent have gone unheeded. As we can conclude by the Barna Group, which performed an extensive analysis on the “State of the Church” over the past twenty years.2 Given the state of undisciplined prayer habits, one would expect similar, or worse, findings with respect to daily Bible study. This particular study shows that only 14% read the Scriptures daily. That is only a 2% increase from when the research began in 1999! One of the most disturbing aspects of this study is the amount of people that declared they NEVER read the Bible. In 1999, 21% stated they never read their Bibles, but in 2019 this had risen to a staggering 35%! Think about that for a moment. Talk about a sobering reality. If this doesn’t cause a devout Christian grave concern, then there is an even more critical problem that has to be addressed—apathy.
Spiritual apathy is like gangrene. If the problem is not addressed promptly, then there are dire consequences. Probably the best example in Scripture for this comes from the apostle John in Revelation chapter 3. Jesus instructs John to write to the church in Laodicea by saying, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit (vomit) you out of My mouth” (Rev. 3:16). A Christian CANNOT be indifferent to the issues that plague the Body of Christ! This is why every Christian must be fervent in prayer (cf. Eph. 6:18) and in meditating on God’s word (cf. Psa. 1:2).
We have briefly concentrated on the problems of lack of prayer and reading of God’s word; now, let us address the reasons why professing Christians choose not to read and pray. When it comes to having a conversation with Almighty God, this can be very intimidating. Simply put, some struggle with how to go about approaching the throne of grace (cf. Heb. 4:16). Even though Jesus provided a model for us (cf. Matt. 6:9ff), people build up several barriers (excuses) for not bringing their concerns to the Lord. One writer provides the following reasons why Christians don’t pray: 1) We don’t believe; 2) Our flesh is weak; 3) We lack spiritual discipline; 4) We’ve left our first love; 5) We don’t want God to interfere with our life; 6) There’s sin in our life; 7) We are lazy; 8) We don’t make prayer a priority; 9) We’ve become discouraged; and 10) We lack the spirit of prayer.3 If we are honest with ourselves, at least one or more of these reasons have applied to us at one point in our lives. Some may still view God as a mystical figure, like their own personal genie who is there to granted wishes. Maybe the most encouraging passages regarding prayer are, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 Jn. 5:14f). Martin Luther famously said, “I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer.” No doubt there are more reasons for people who do not make prayer a habitual part of their lives, but let us proceed to why reading God’s word is not a priority.
Comparably, there are various reasons why people will not pick up the word of God. Some include: 1) The Bible is optional; 2) Many church leaders don’t expect us to read the Bible; 3) All we hear is mission and vision; 4) Google faith (insert a Bible verse and nothing more is required); 5) Failure; 6) Parents don’t read the Bible; 7) Bible bullies; 8) Paul predicted many wouldn’t read it (2 Tim. 4:3-4; 9) It makes us uncomfortable; 10) It’s too hard; 11) We are undisciplined; 12) We think it is stale and lifeless; and 13) We have a dysfunctional relationship with God.5 The list goes on and on, but the reality is that one reason is one too many. That goes for not spending time in prayer or letting God’s word gather dust on a shelf. The question then is, “What can we do?” It should be no surprise that the answer is found in the Bible!
Before offering some practical guidance on prayer and reading Scripture, let us look at some encouraging passages to motivate us. The apostle Paul wrote to the brethren at Philippi, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). Furthermore, Paul instructed Timothy and us to offer prayers on behalf of everyone, including those in authority (cf. 1 Tim. 2:1ff). A wonderful message of hope is contained in this passage because Paul emphasizes to Timothy that God wants ALL to be saved and know His word (v. 5). An important caveat—this does NOT mean that our prayers are to be rote or a blanket statement like, “God save everyone, Amen!” No, there has to be thought and reverence in our prayers to the Lord (cf. Matt. 6:5ff). Another crucial fact to keep in mind is that the Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers (cf. Rom. 8:26). We should find great solace that the Comforter is by our side. There is nothing that must prevent us from going to God in prayer!
The Lord Jesus told Satan, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; cf. Deut. 8:3). Satan had been tempting Christ to disobey God, and Jesus quoted Scripture as His weapon. Paul tells us that we have access to that weapon, and we must use it against the Devil and his forces (cf. Eph. 6:10ff). Romans 15:4 states, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Here, Paul is letting us know the benefit of God’s word in the Old Testament. Other passages echo this sentiment (cf. Lk. 16:29ff; 2 Tim. 3:16f). Additionally, we never have to be ashamed of the word of God because His gospel is the power of salvation (cf. Rom. 1:16). God’s word stands forever (cf. Isa. 40:8; Matt. 24:35) and is truth (cf. Prov. 30:5; Jn. 17:17)! May we long for His word, as newborn babies do for milk (cf. 1 Pet. 2:2).
Finally, let us consider some practical ideas that can be implemented in our daily lives for prayer and reading the Bible. We established earlier that prayer is a continual aspect of our lives. Is God on our minds when we first wake up and is He what we think about when we go to bed? Do we express our gratitude when we arise in the morning? How about giving thanks for the blessings of another day as we retire at night? At each meal, do we ask the Father to bless it and thank Him for His provision? Granted, there are times when we may not have time to deliberate on prayer, and that is when an “arrow prayer” is valuable. Brethren can attest to the usefulness of a quick arrow prayer to the Lord in desperate situations. Even Scripture provides a great example for us in Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was troubled over the situation occurring in Jerusalem (Nehemiah Chapter 1), and this man desperately wanted to do something. The problem was that Nehemiah was so far away. Compounding the situation was that he was a servant of the most powerful man in the world—the Persian king. He could not lift a finger without the king’s approval, or he would risk death. In chapter 2, Nehemiah is in the presence of the king and was asked, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart” (v. 2). Nehemiah was quite afraid because his life was on the line, and he did what a righteous man does—he prayed (v. 4). There was no time for a long, drawn-out entreaty to the Lord, but whatever he prayed, God heard his prayer (v. 8).
We can learn much from Nehemiah’s experience. For instance, if a man is getting ready to get up in the pulpit or facilitate the Lord’s Supper, an arrow prayer of, “Lord, help me with my words!” can be very effective. Another example could be if a sudden opportunity to share the gospel with someone presented itself, an arrow prayer can help calm one’s nerves. The phrase “the power of prayer” is so true and biblical. James says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (Jas. 5:16). Some may struggle in their prayer life, meaning they do not have one or don’t know exactly where to begin. Start talking to God! God is such a great listener and wants to hear from us.
For reading the Bible, a key area to consider is one’s environment. Is the place where we are studying conducive to a productive meditation on God’s word? Are we prone to fall asleep in certain places, is noise a factor, or is the area well-lit? These are some things to take into consideration. Let’s keep in mind that this life is filled with distractions, and the Devil wants nothing more than for us to not be focused on learning the word of God. We have to be diligent and give no provision for the Devil to interfere with our lives (cf. Eph. 4:27). A brief note on the word “meditation.” We are talking about reflecting on and praying for understanding of what we are reading. Too often, we can fail by just reading a passage and not thinking much of what the Scripture is saying. This is a great hindrance to our growth in the knowledge and wisdom of God’s word (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).
Additionally, why we read God’s word is paramount! Many will use a reading schedule, like the well-known read the Bible in a year programs. This may work for some; however, let’s make sure that our reading of God’s word is not part of a checklist. We need an action plan for reading the Bible daily with adequate comprehension (2 Tim. 2:15); still, in any circumstance, one can fall into the danger of merely seeing it as a task. Everyone must find what works for them. For example, I find it beneficial to have a reliable commentary to aid me in my studies, and I have limited my focus to one chapter a day. That will probably change, but I want to dig deeper into a smaller portion of Scripture and gain a greater understanding of the passages that I am learning. Do not be afraid to ask mature brothers and sisters for suggestions. We may discover techniques from them that we never even considered. Above all, keep in mind that our hearts have to be malleable for ingesting the words of God. God has commanded us to center our minds on things above (cf. Col. 3:2; Phil. 3:20).
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Oh, how true is this statement! God has to be the priority in our lives, which includes prayer and reading His word. Remember these words, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?...But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Lk. 6:46; Jas. 1:22). Let’s make prayer and studying His word central to our lives!
1 https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/christians/christian/frequency-of-prayer/
2 https://www.barna.com/research/changing-state-of-the-church/
3 https://www.ministrymaker.com/why-christians-dont-pray
4 https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/8-reasons-we-don-t-read-the-bible.html
