The following has been adapted from Food for Faith by Richard Bennett.
All over the world—in classrooms, in lecture halls and in libraries—people are digesting academic information that provides them with much ‘food for thought’. If we, in like manner, approach the Bible merely as a religious textbook, all we will receive is just that—food for thought. Yet the Bible itself warns us that: Knowledge puffs up, [but it is] love [that] builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV).
Yes, unless we understand how to properly digest the Word of God, even a knowledge of Bible truth can puff us up with intellectual pride, rather than build us up in our spiritual life. Instead of merely gaining knowledge during our daily time together with our Lord, we need to receive nourishment from His banqueting table that will provide us with ‘food for faith’.
In striking contrast to those who read the Bible as only an academic exercise are the many joyful believers who have discovered the secret of reading the Word of God so that it becomes a practical and living source of true spiritual nourishment in their lives. These Christians are experiencing the growing reality of a life of fellowship with God and in the process are discovering the way of genuine worship and fruitful service. To such people the bondage of self-consciousness will give way to the blessing of God-consciousness.
To approach God confidently and personally each day with an open Bible and an open heart is the wonderful privilege of every born-again Child of God.
The question you may be asking is: What is the best way to read the Bible so that it will nourish my soul and enable me to grow in the love and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? The secret is found in what I call “togetherness with the Lord.” It is really a two-way conversation with our living Lord. Through His Word, the Bible, God speaks to His children. As we respond correctly and personally to what God is saying, we will learn how to pray biblically and with expectant faith.
When I speak about ‘praying biblically’, I mean that we actually use the very words of the Scriptures we are reading when we respond to our Lord in prayer. To pray biblically is to enjoy a growing assurance of praying in accordance with the will of God.
As the Holy Spirit makes God’s Word living to us, we use those exact words of Scripture and relate them to the concerns that may be upon our heart. Praying in this way, we will be saved from stereotyped prayers. Instead, when we pray biblically, we will enjoy privileged fellowship with the Lord as we enter into a growing understanding of His own concerns and purposes in our life.
True prayer is not the bending of God’s will to mine, but it is the bending of my will to the will of God.
After Joshua had miraculously led the Children of Israel through the River Jordan during the springtime floods, he encountered an unknown ‘man.’ Joshua knew that in Canaan his mandate from God was to conquer the land and to cleanse it from its pagan practices. Therefore, Joshua asked of this stranger, who had a sword drawn in his hand, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” The strange answer Joshua received was “No!” or as the NIV Bible translates the word “Neither.” Joshua assumed from this answer that the stranger would not take sides. Then came the words that clarified the answer given by the stranger: “but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”
At that point, Joshua rightfully recognized that instead of taking sides, the stranger was about to take control! Falling on his face as an indication of yieldedness, Joshua knew he was in the presence of the Commander of the Lord’s army. “For the place where you stand is holy” (Joshua 5:13-15 NKJV)
Likewise, in our own times of prayer, we should not bring our personal agenda to God and then ask Him to be with us, but instead we should bow in His Holy Presence to attune ourselves to His plans, His purposes and His power.
Thus, to pray biblically is to pray in harmony with the purposes and will of God. And this bending of our will to His can be the growing experience of each one of us as we learn to align ourselves with God’s Word whenever we pray.
Yes, when you prayerfully read the Bible with a genuine desire to hear from God, you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
