Back to basics... Kind of

[TradArcher]

Hey All!

For the past few months I have NOT been doing well with reading my Bible. This fact, is, for me, something very difficult to live with. I know that I need to be reading my Bible on a regular basis, not only that but also because I believe that it is demanded of use to read and study the Word of God. It seems that the solution to this problem SHOULD be an easy one; just go "force" myself to read everyday, but even that doesn't seem to work. Whenever I do force myself to read, I get virtually nothing from it, it is not alive and relevant to me, it is just like any other piece of literature. I know that I should not expect some amazing revelation EVERY time I open my Bible but, I do not get ANYTHING from it.

So anyway, enough rambling. I have been thinking and praying about this problem recently and it came to mind that the problem might be in my approach to reading. I have always been the more analytical type of person, in that I never just take anything at face value, I always try and dive deep into all possible meanings. While I don't think that this is inherently bad, I think that it may be taking away from my Bible readings. Usually whenever I go to read my bible, even if it is with the intention of just reading, I always end up with a bible dictionary, Greek/Latin lexicons, commentaries, etc, and it gets overwhelming and seemingly pointless VERY quickly.

My idea is this: that I take my Bible and go somewhere. Somewhere where I have no access to anything other then my Bible. For example, about 1/4 mile from my house there is a big hill with a beautiful park at the top. Once there, I would try and approach reading with a new mindset, that of just letting God speak through His word, and not trying to force God to speak as it were.

I don't know if this will make any sense to anybody, I may just be rambling. But either way, I would GREATLY appreciate any insight that any of you could give to a young Christian.

Keep your Aim on He who is worthy.
God Bless

[zoegirl]

I have come to the conclusion that there is not only one wa to study scripture, or a corollary, I htink that we should approach scripture with all parts of our mind. It shoul speak to us, it should be analyzed, it should be thoughtfully read, and it should be always in our minds (or in the process of always being in our minds), and it should also be those quick reads. I'm not speaking about hermeneutics, I'm simply talking logistics. I think we should be able to use the word in 5 minutes, 50 minutes, or 5 seconds. It's amazing how useful 5 minutes is if we use it well.

YOur idea is great. Getting by yourself and treasuring that seclusion with God is huge. Be wary of those feelings of busy-ness, where you feel the tyranny of the urgent. That will wreck your quiet times more than anything else.

I have found great pleasure in praying while taking my dog for walks. I have the new testament on my Ipod and listen to that sometimes. Also great music. But what is the best part about it is that it is now a habit. I find myself immediately praying even if I am stepping outside to my car. Somtimes tha happens now when I am on my treadmill.

Keep at it, and don't come down on yourself when you slip. I had a very wise friend tell me, when I remarked how frustrated I was when me mind wandered during prayer, just remember who it was that brought your attention back in focus. Keep up the good race!!

[nd925]

There is definitely more than 1 way to study scripture. Zoegirl you're right in saying that sometimes 5 minutes is just as useful as 50 minutes.
My advice to you if you are feeling like you're not getting anything out of it would be to just read a couple of verses and meditate on that for a while. Another good suggestion Zoegirl has is listening to the Bible. I personally get more out of reading but listening works too. Just don't beat yourself up about it and don't be discouraged. It takes time to form new habits. Good luck.

[zoegirl]

Sometimes we think that we must commit huge amounts of time to studying. I thnk this feeds the fear/procrastination we have. We get overwhelmed when we don't uderstand soemthing or just have trouble focusing our attenion. But it's amazing how powerful 10-15 minutes is.