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 1
August 25
“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.“
— Hebrews 1:1-2
REMINDER: This passage reminds us that God is not some cosmic force or philosophical abstraction. He is personal, which means He relates to us. One of the chief ways God relates is through speaking. We read scripture not just to learn about God. We read Scripture because in it we hear God’s voice speaking to us.
TODAY’S PRAYER:
Father, thank you for being a God who speaks. Thank you for speaking to us through Scripture and for speaking most clearly through Jesus. Open my eyes to behold wonderful things in Your Word. It is in His Name I pray, Amen.