Asking questions often is needful and good for us. If we don’t ask questions, we won’t know where we have been spiritually. We may think that we are growing spiritually but in fact, we may not! If we don’t examine our lives, we would be living lives aimlessly, without purpose. We want to be wise! We don’t want to be foolish! Here are some questions we may want to ask ourselves. Why is there a crucial need to read the Bible, the Word of God? Have we been reading the Bible? Have we been engaging with the Word of God? What place have we put God’s Word in our individual life?

When we are physically hungry, we are conscious of it because our stomach indicates to us. When we are spiritually hungry, how would we know and conscious of it? We would know of it only as the Spirit of God reveals it to us in our spirit. We would know only when our delight and meditation have always been upon the Word of God. When we are spiritually hungry for the Word of God, we would want to really read it. Reading the Bible does not come naturally for many people! It requires great discipline and effort to be able to do so. We love to read other books, even Christian books rather than the Bible itself. Some find that the Bible is a very boring book. They find the Bible uninteresting at all. They read and read it but do not enjoy it because their heart is not inclined to it or their understanding has been dulled. The worldly attractions seem stronger day by day. They are bored down by the things in this world. Loving God and His words are real necessities to desiring to read the Bible. I know that there are people who rather read the newspapers than spending time with God and reading the Bible. Where have we gone wrong in our quest for God and His holy Word?

Being busy with many other things and priorities takes precedence against spending time with God and reading the Bible. How does the LORD our God feel about all these? He must have been thinking that His children do not love Him enough to want to spend time with Him. How very sad isn’t it? How much He longs to have us make an appointment with Him! How much He wants to guide us and teach us His ways but we are not willing! How much He wants to be the LORD of our life provided that we allow Him to!

Reading the Bible requires discipline and effort on our part. If we don’t read the Bible, we won’t be able to know the Will of God for our life and our families. If we don’t read it, we won’t be able to grow spiritually. If we don’t read it, we won’t be able to discern truths from errors. We would be easily trapped by different kind of teachings bombarding us regularly. There is a great urgency today to have a good grasp of the Word of God. It is crucial to read the Bible, to know and understand it well and then to appropriate and apply the truths into our daily lives. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the contents of the Bible. We cannot be negligent in knowing God and His precious Word, the Bible. We need to do something about our apathy when comes to the Word of God. We know that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths. We know that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God. These would be intellectual knowledge if they stay in our head and not translate into our hearts and our lives. Have we been taking time in reading the Bible and meditating upon these Bible verses and hearing from the LORD how He would want us to appropriate them into our lives? Our faith in Christ can never be stagnant! Our faith in Christ must grow and bear fruits, fruits that will last. I have learnt that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. When we engage ourselves in the very Word of God, we need to hear God and hear what He might be speaking to us and teaching us. Then, as we appropriate and apply the truths of God’s Word into our life, our faith in Christ will definitely grow and will bear fruits many folds to the glory of God.

Having known all these, let us not ignore God and His precious Word. Let us not let Him to wait for us but let us make an appointment with Him gladly and gratefully. Let us draw close to Him and delight ourselves in reading His Word, listening to Him and meditating upon His Word. Let us love God’s presence, His company and His holy words. Let us discipline ourselves in wanting to read the Bible and to complete the entire Bible in our lifetime here on this planet earth. Let us ask God for a spiritual awakening in our hearts for a real quest for His Word, the Bible. Amen.