My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. – Proverbs 4:20-23

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”– Matthew 7:21 

 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.”– John 15:7

“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 John 5:14-15

I’m Saved

I’ve got a savior, I’m saved!
I’ve got a healer, I’m healed!
I’m part of a covenant with God,
A sacred deal that’s been sealed.
If I only keep reading God’s word,
And if I only keep living God’s will.
Day and night, believing in Him,
I can rejoice as my needs are fulfilled.
There is nothing too big for God.
And it’s never too late to ask.
If you are ready, He is ready,
But you’ll have to take off that mask.
Because God knows all about you.
And God’s got a plan for us.
A plan of glorious favor,
Requiring only unconditional trust.
So, while you’re alone in your closet,
In reverence humbly kneel.
He patiently waits for a call from you
Asking please be my savior who heals.
In that moment you’re saved.
And in that moment you’re healed.
You’re part of a covenant with God,
And a sacred deal that’s been sealed.
©Linda Troxell 03/2016

The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:21 that if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven we must do God’s will. Before we can do God’s will we have to understand what that is. So how do we go about understanding how to live God’s will? Many of us are content to drop into church once a week and try to understand God’s will from the sermons. Perhaps we can learn something about God’s will, in general, from weekly sermons. But what about God’s will for us, personally? Can we learn that from a 40-minute sermon once a week? I don’t think we can. Knowing God’s will comes from knowing God’s words. The book of Proverbs tells us that God’s words are …”life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” –Proverbs 4:20-23. In order to understand what God’s will is we must read God’s word; we must read the Bible.

Many people say that they want to read the Bible but they don’t know how. Well, it is a big book and sometimes it is intimidating. It can be very difficult to understand, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember, the Bible is not like a novel. It isn’t meant to entertain, it is meant to edify, to instruct, to reveal. In that sense, it should be approached more like a textbook than a novel. But, the truth is, there is no right or a wrong way to read the Bible. Because the Bible is a personal book for each of us. Therefore, the best way to read it is personal as well. That means that it will take some experimenting to find the best way for you to read it.

 However, there is a difference between simply reading the Bible and studying it. Reading the Bible is just what it sounds like, to simply read the words and absorb the ideas and the context of the stories. Whereas, studying the Bible is to learn about the culture of the times in which it was written, to look into the translation of the words you are reading from the original language to understand the nuances, and the differences between the word of the original language compared to the English word chosen in the translation. It is to delve into the related material and consider comments, ideas, and reflections on the material from other sources and ultimately to apply it to your walk with God.

While in reading the Bible you might get a great deal of God’s message, it is in studying the Bible that you will begin to build a personal relationship with God. It is through this relationship you will begin to receive His personal message for you; to understand His will for you. While studying the Bible might be difficult when you first start, like most difficult activities, the rewards are worth the effort and the more you do it, the easier it gets. I would venture to guess that if you stick with it, you will begin to like it; even begin to look forward to it. Reading or studying, time spent with God’s word helps you to build a personal relationship with Him. From that relationship, you learn to discern God’s will for you. From God’s own words we know that hearing God’s words and doing God’s will gives us life and health in this world and allows us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven for the next.

But coming to know God’s will for us does not come only from reading or studying the Bible. Those things we learn from our time spent in God’s word need to ultimately go from knowledge to knowing. There are many ways in which this can happen, going to church, reading other Christian books, and discussing what we learn with Christian peers to mention just a few. But I think that of all of the ways in which we can help the knowledge of God’s word become the discernment of God’s will, the quickest and most reliable is prayer. Prayer is not only a time when we are likely to hear God speak to us directly, it is an activity that stimulates God to speak to us indirectly in many other ways.

When I say speak to us directly I am not talking about a big booming voice that fills the room, although some people might hear God’s voice in that way. But for most of us, I think it is not that clear or dramatic. I know it isn’t for me. I hear God’s word in many ways but none of them is as direct as his booming voice. Most often He speaks to me through a thought that seems clearly unbidden and which is clearly not my own. By this I mean it is a thought that is not necessarily in keeping with what I am thinking about or what I am doing. It is a thought that may not feel familiar to me, that is not in keeping with my style of thinking.  

A common way in which people hear from God is through friends, family, and acquaintances. For example, let’s say that your child is struggling with a subject in school and you have been praying for God to help him or her. Then one day, when you are having your hair cut, your beautician mentions that her college-age son is involved with an on-campus club which provides free tutoring for local kids who are struggling in school. It is tempting to think of this as mere coincidence having little to do with God. But I think that God is at the center of more coincidences than He is given credit for.

Sometimes God speaks to us through music, we hear a song on the radio whose title sparks a thought which leads to an answer to a problem. Or, we hear a song that reminds of us something in the past that can help us with a problem we have now. Or sometimes it is a commercial on T. V. or an article in the newspaper or a magazine that gives us helpful information about something we have been praying about or for. The truth is that God can speak to us in many ways, and in any way He chooses. So it is important that we are always open to God’s voice when and how it comes. It is important that we do not limit Him by assuming that he can’t or won’t use a particular means of communication thereby missing the answer when it comes.

The Bible tells us in John 15 that Jesus says that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us whatever we ask of God will be done for us. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.”– John 15:7. But the Apostle John, in 1 John clarifies that whatever we ask for according to God’s will He will give to us. “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 John 5:14-15.  Now, as we discussed in the beginning of this article and that the Bible makes clear in these verses, in order for us to live in God and for His words to live in us we must read His words; we must read the Bible. And in reading the Bible we will learn to know God’s will. Only then can we abide in God and His words abide in us; only then can we ask God for what we want, according to His will; only then, having learned God’s will through His word, do we have the chance to do His will and enter the kingdom of heaven.

Points of Prayer and Pondering

1. Have you had a difficult time reading the Bible in the past? List as many things as you can think of that made reading the Bible difficult for you

2. Now, pretend a good friend or loved one has come to you and told you that they have to read “Romeo and Juliet” or they won’t graduate. They present the same reasons you listed above for why they cannot read the play. What would your advice to them be? Write it down.

3. Are you willing to give 30 minutes of your day to read God’s word? How about to study His word? No shame if the answer is no. It is better to be truthful with yourself than to feel like you failed later. If the answer is no, start praying today for God to help you to be ready to read and or study His word. If the answer is yes write a detailed plan for studying the Bible. What time of day will you study? Where will you study? With which study method will you begin? When will you begin?

4. Pick a date and make an appointment in your planner or on your phone (or wherever you keep your appointments) with God for every day at that time beginning with the date you chose to begin.