Go Beyond At Home
28-Week Prayer Guide
scripture reading
Hello all. I am so grateful to be able to share this week’s prayer guide with you. This week we continue to focus on spiritual disciplines, and specifically the practice of Scripture Reading. When you hear the word “Bible Study,” what comes to mind? Maybe you think of the captivating or inspiring Bible studies you have heard taught. Maybe you think of a time when you were studying the Bible on your own and felt alive and fed. But I am guessing most of us are carrying around with us a vague sense of guilt about not studying the Bible more. We know we should, but we don’t. The reasons we give are many—too tired, too busy, too whatever. Chances are we even feel bad about our excuses. The truth is that we find the Bible confusing, don’t know how to read it, and so we go to someone who does or turn to something easier to digest. We are like people going grocery shopping in a foreign country. We don’t know what any of the labels say and can’t figure out what anything is, so we leave befuddled and go to the nearest McDonald’s for some already made, less-confusing food even if it isn’t as nourishing as we would have liked. My hope is that this week we will rediscover the joy of hearing God speak by reading His Word.
Week 26
Day 2
August 26
“Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.“
— 2 Peter 1:20-21
REMINDER: The Bible is God’s Word to us, but it didn’t just drop down out of Heaven. God used numerous human authors to write His words down for us. These human authors weren’t taking dictation from God. God worked in them so that the words they wrote were His words. God did this by the power of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our lives to guide and direct us.
TODAY’S PRAYER:
Father, I thank you for all the people You used to faithfully record Your Word for us. Thank you for guiding them by the power of Your Spirit to write down the words You wanted us to have. Thank you also for giving each of Your children the Holy Spirit to help us in understanding Your Word and to lead us to the truth. Help us to hear you speaking and to learn what you want to teach us today. Amen.