“… know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek, He will be found by you …” (1 Chron 28:9, NKJ)
Today continues with yesterday’s teaching about how it the Bible is read incorrectly. Yesterday we dealt with three important principles regarding the reading of the Word and today we’ll look at another.
The fourth principle: we cannot use the Bible as a type of Russian roulette. Many people have a habit of asking the Lord something and then open the Bible randomly, or look where the Bible falls open or something like that. It’s a dangerous manner of dealing with Scripture. The Scripture usually falls open somewhere in Psalms because it is the middle of the Bible or it opens at places where the Bible has previously been laid open, face down. This way of “hearing” is no good.
Granted, of course God can talk to us in this way, but I do not believe it can in any way be the norm. This hit-and-run method often indicates that a person cannot hear the voice of God. We ask the Holy Spirit where we must read, and then we follow what the Spirit prompted. Sometimes what you hear is not a direct answer to your question. Continue to pray and ask the Lord for more, but remember: as explained previously, because of the large amount of information encoded in the Bible, it is possible that what you are asking God is probably hidden in the Scripture you received. Whatever I receive from the Lord in terms of Scripture when I ask, I always take seriously, even if it doesn’t make any sense to me – remember the principle: unite what you hear with faith. Don’t just assume that you have heard incorrectly based on the seeming irrelevance of the Scripture portion! Pray that God will clarify this incomprehensible Scripture and cause it to be realised in your life and in terms of what you have asked Him. In reading the Word, one often searches without knowing what for, and sometimes you receive without knowing what it is you have received!
Sometimes you receive a Scripture portion in your spirit that doesn’t exist. For example: you feel the Holy Spirit is saying read Esther 16. There is no chapter 16 in the book of Esther (alas J). Ask the Holy Spirit for more instruction and He could, for example, say to you read verse 16 of every chapter in Esther, or read chapter 1 and chapter 6. Or you could feel that you must read Hag 2:27, but it doesn’t exist – ask the Lord what you should do and He could lead you to read Hag 2:2 to 2:7. Do not think that this way of practising to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit is a facile game – it is a childlike way of beginning to trust the Lord to speak to you and to unite it with faith. Remember Heb 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
- Sela: Practise hearing from God where you must read in the Bible. Link the above Scripture with Ps 139:4.
- Read: 1 Sam 17; Ps 139; Luke 14
- Memorise: If you’re up to it, Ps 139:1-17.
- Going deeper: Based on Ps 139, read Yancey & Brand’s Fearfully and wonderfully made. Use the book to examine similarities between man’s physical body and the Body of Christ.
