Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day

Article by Michael Goforth II:  

“Read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow, grow, grow.”

This may be a simple children’s song, but it contains a profound truth. Do you want to grow as a Christian? Then read your Bible, and don’t forget to pray.

In 2 Peter 3:18 we’re commanded to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” And while there are many practices that God uses to bring this growth in our lives, nothing can replace Bible intake and prayer.

Carl Lundquist made this point well when he said, “. . .whatever varying religious exercises we may practice, without the two basic ones of Emmaus—prayer and Bible reading—the others are empty and powerless.” [1]

READ YOUR BIBLE

The Bible is the greatest treasure we have today. It reveals to us who God is, what He is like, and what He expects of us, His creation. In its pages we learn that our infinite, majestic, and all-powerful God brought everything we see and even what we can’t see into existence. 

We learn that God describes Himself as, “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. . .” But next God adds that He “. . .will by no means clear the guilty.” (Exodus 34:6-8) 

How can God both forgive sin and not let the guilty go unpunished? This brings us to the greatest truth contained in the Scriptures. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as our perfect substitute to pay for our sins and bring us into a right relationship with our Creator. (1 Peter 3:18) If we repent of our sins and believe the gospel, we can be saved. (Mark 1:15)

This is the greatest news we’ll ever hear, and we wouldn’t know any of these truths if it weren’t for God’s gracious revelation to us in Scripture. This explains why Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

Just as the outer man will waste away without physical food, so the inner man will waste away without the regular intake of God’s Word. Donald Whitney comments, “No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There is simply no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture.”[2]

Every day we’re being shaped by a myriad of voices all around us. Whether from co-workers, friends, television, music, or movies. In a noisy world like ours, we’re desperate for the voice of God. And the only way to discern truth from error is to renew our minds with Scripture. (Romans 12:2)

In his final letter before martyrdom, the Apostle Paul emphasized the importance of God’s Word. He wrote, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

Do you want to grow in grace? Read your Bible.

PRAY EVERY DAY

We have the immeasurable privilege of hearing from God through His Word, but that is not where our privileges as God’s children end. We also have the joy of responding to God in prayer.

David Mathis comments, “The speaking God not only has spoken, but he also listens—he stops, he stoops, he wants to hear from you. He stands ready to hear your voice. Christian, you have the ear of God. We call it prayer.” [3]

God wants to hear from us? Yes. In fact, our prayers are like incense to God (Rev. 5:8) that brings Him delight (Prov. 15:8). If that thought does not make you overflow with praise, wonder, and humility, I don’t know what will.

This is why Jesus expects us to pray (Matt. 6:5) and even encourages us to never give up in prayer. (Luke 18:1) It also explains why the Apostle Paul commands us to, “continue in prayer” (Col. 4:2) and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17)

J.C. Ryle makes this observation about prayer, “What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.”[4]

Do you want to grow in grace? Pray every day.

GETTING STARTED

If you’re a new Christian looking to grow, I hope this article has encouraged you to start a regular habit of Bible reading and prayer. However, if you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, nothing that I’ve said so far is new. You learned the children’s song years ago, and you’ve been humming it since I mentioned it earlier. But this article is less about information and more about action. You may know the song, but are you living it?

Whether you’re a brand new Christian or not, here are 3 practical suggestions to get started:

1. Pray about it. Ask God to increase your hunger for His Word and your desire to pray. I think you’ll be surprised at how effective this is in beginning and maintaining these disciplines. 
2. Plan for it. Choose a time and a place to get started. I prefer mornings, but this may not work for everyone. Next, pick a book of the Bible you’d like to read. A good place to start would be one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). Finally, make a prayer list using concentric circles. For example, this list would begin with your needs, move outward to your spouse, then your immediate family, then your church, then your neighbors and co-workers, etc. 
3. Practice it. The best way to cultivate these habits in your life is to simply begin doing them. Start small, even if it’s just 20 minutes at first. Read your Bible for 10 minutes, mark where you left off, and then pray in concentric circles for 10 minutes. If you discipline yourself to practice these habits for a few weeks, you’ll find that your desire for them will grow and you’ll eventually want more time.

I began this article with the first line of a children’s song, but there is a second verse as well. And it is just as profound and timeless as the first, “Neglect your Bible, forget to pray, and you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink.”

Again, it may be simple, but it is so very true. Bible intake and prayer are the primary God-ordained means of growth for His children. Make them a priority in your life and you will grow. Neglect them, and you will shrink.

Thousands of Christians have walked these well-worn paths and found the joy and satisfaction of growing closer to God. Will you join them?

“Read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow, grow, grow.”

---

[1] Carl Lundquist, The Burning Heart Newsletter (St. Paul, MN: Evangelical Order of the Burning Heart, November 1984), page 2.  (For background on his reference of, "Emmaus" see Luke 24:13-35.)
[2] Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress, 2002), page 28.
[3] David Mathis, Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), Kindle Locations 1276-1278.
[4] J.C. Ryle, A Call to Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979), page 35.​