A Plan to Read the Word of God

Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me.
—Psalm 25:4–5

If you are really serious about discovering God’s will from God’s Word, then you need to have a plan that includes these three ingredients.

First, your plan needs to set aside a period of time. Designate a period of time every day to read God’s Word. Some people do best in the early morning, while others do better late at night. It is not so much when you do it, but it is the idea that you set aside a period of time every day when you say, “If I don’t do anything else today, I am going to read God’s Word and let God speak to me.” When we read God’s Word every day, even twenty minutes a day, then we will receive the nourishment we need from God. Have you come to the point in your life that you are so desperate to hear from God and know His will that you are willing to set aside a period of time every day to do it?

Second, your plan needs to designate a place. You need to specify a geographical location where you meet with God. Now, of course God can meet with you anywhere. But I think there is something special about setting apart a specific place where you plan to read your Bible and meet with God. You know, when God met Jacob, He met him at Bethel. When God met Moses, He revealed Himself on Mount Sinai. Throughout Scripture we see that God met with His people at specific geographical locations. I think there is something about having a chair by your bed or maybe in your office or the sewing room or some special place where you meet with God.

Third, your plan needs to include a program for reading through God’s Word. Suppose somebody came up to you and said, “I have read this great book that will revolutionize your life, and I want to give you a copy of it.” So you take it. You’re a little skeptical, but you think, Well, if it’s a life-changing book, then I will read it. So one night you open that book in the middle, you read a couple of pages, and it makes no sense to you. You flip to the back, read the last couple of paragraphs, and it still makes no sense to you. You open it up to the front and read a couple of lines. What in the world is this about? Then you close the book and say, “I don’t understand the big deal about this book.” Of course, you would never read a book like that. Yet many people approach the Bible in that kind of haphazard way. Don’t you think it makes sense that we ought to read the Bible at least with the same amount of respect that we would read any other book? We need to have a program for reading God’s Word. Now, through the years, many people have suggested different plans for reading the Bible. Whichever program you choose, remember that what matters is not how much of the Bible you have gotten through, but how much of the Bible has gotten through to you.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “The Bible Tells Me So?” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.