How to Read the Bible in Accordance With God’s Will

Reading the Bible is an essential way for every believer in the Lord to do spiritual devotions. Then do you know how to read the Bible to get closer to God? Here below I’d like to tell you three paths of how to read the Bible.

1. Quiet Our Hearts Before God When Reading the Bible

We live in this materialistic world and our hearts are occupied by many things, which results in our inability to be quiet before God when we read the Bible. Oftentimes, we read the Bible with our eyes while we frequently have external things on our minds like jobs, family, eating, drinking, making merry, and more—that kind of Scripture reading is just going through the motions and cannot achieve results.

The Lord Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

From here we can see that if we want to achieve good results in reading the Bible, first we have to quiet our hearts before God. When we read the Bible, we can first pray to God, calling on Him to protect us so our hearts can be quiet before Him, and shun the things related to our lives in the flesh that have nothing to do with the truth, and asking Him to enlighten and guide us to understand the truth. If we often practice this way, we will take true gains from reading the Bible.

2. Focus on Pray-reading and Pondering God’s Words When Reading the Bible

We all know that every word which God speaks is truth and brims with God’s will and requirements. If we don’t seriously pray-read and ponder God’s words, it will be so hard for us to understand their true meaning. So, if we want to achieve good results in reading the Bible and understand the truth within God’s words, we must carefully contemplate God’s words with a heart of prayer and seeking. This is the only way God will enlighten and guide us to understand the true meaning of God’s words. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

Take these words spoken by the Lord Jesus, for example: “Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). After reading these words, we have a theoretical knowledge that only by being as honest as children can we be qualified to enter into God’s kingdom. But the Lord’s words are the truth and are not as simple as our literal understanding of them. If we diligently pray-read and ponder these words, it’s easy to see that not only do honest people speak no lies, but most importantly they have honest hearts. They completely open up their hearts to God, don’t deceive God, accept God’s scrutiny in all things, and expend for God without transaction, exchange, or personal plans, intentions, and impurities, entirely for the sake of loving God and satisfying God. Only people who achieve these things are honest people in God’s eyes.

However, once we encounter issues which touch upon our own personal interests, we involuntarily tell lies and deceive others; when unfortunate situations happen, such as the torment of illness, unfortunate family events, etc., we still misunderstand and blame God, even distancing ourselves from Him or betraying Him. There are many such examples. From these expressions, we can see that we are still able to often lie and deceive, and that our expending and working is making deals with God, and is using God to achieve the purpose of gaining blessings—is this not deceiving and resisting God all the more? Coming to this realization, we will have a path of how to practice the truth to satisfy God in our real lives. All this is the result achieved by focusing on pondering God’s words in reading the Bible.

So, when reading the Bible, we need to rely on God more and seriously seek and ponder God’s words, no matter whether they are simple or profound in outward appearance. Only by doing so can we understand the true meaning of God’s words and accurately act in accordance with God’s will.

3. Read the Bible in a Targeted Way That Addresses Our Difficulties and Problems

We cannot read the Bible aimlessly; instead, we should read it in a targeted way that addresses our difficulties and problems—that’s the only way to achieve good results. Just as God’s words say, “When you eat and drink the words of God, you must measure the reality of your own state against them. That is, when you discover your shortcomings in the course of your real experience, you must be capable of finding a path to practice, of turning your back on your incorrect motivations and notions. If you always strive for these things and pour your heart into achieving them, then you will have a path to follow, you will not feel empty, and thus you will be able to maintain a normal state. Only then will you be someone who carries a burden in your own life, who has faith.”

God’s words show us that by reading God’s words in accordance with our actual states and difficulties, we can not only understand and remedy our wrong states, but also find the correct path of practice. This way, we can understand God’s will and requirements clearly when encountering various problems in our lives and also can bring God’s words into our daily lives to resolve our practical difficulties.

For example, in our interactions with others, we frequently become hot-headed, always look at others with unfavorable eyes, and cannot get along peacefully with them, which makes us live in pain. Then when reading the Bible, we can consciously read the verses about the Lord teaching us to be forgiving, tolerant, and patient with others. When hardships and trials befall us and our flesh is weak, we can look for the scriptures about faith. Apart from seeking to resolve our own shortcomings and difficulties, we can also integrate our practical problems to seek and grasp God’s will. For example, the last days are here now, and the Lord Jesus prophesied that He will return in the last days; so, how should we practice to welcome the Lord? When we come before the Lord to seek the answer to this question and investigate the Bible, we can see that the Lord Jesus said, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” And Revelation 2:7 says, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” From these verses we can see that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will express the Holy Spirit’s words to the churches, and that God’s will is for us to be the wise virgins and learn to listen to the Lord’s voice. Therefore, upon hearing the words “the bridegroom comes,” we should proactively listen to God’s voice. Once we determine it is God’s voice, we should accept and obey—aren’t we welcoming the Lord? So, if we often read the Bible in a targeted way that addresses our difficulties and problems, we will be able to grasp God’s will and have a path of practice in all things.

Editor’s Note: Through the fellowship above, we have found the path of how to read the Bible and known how to read the Bible. If this article has been helpful to you, please share it with others. If you want to learn more about belief, please contact us using the online chat buttons at the bottom. We’re available anytime to answer any questions you might have.