I am someone who generally doesn’t really use the instruction manual for anything. I learn by doing. Give me a new phone, I’ll have it all worked out in 5 minutes. Ask me to do something, and I’ll keep trying until eventually I’ve figured it out. Instruction manuals in my flat tend to be used as items to support chairs on uneven surfaces or coasters for cups of tea. Until things go wrong, that is. Suddenly, I’ll be desperately running around my flat, looking for the instruction manual for my toaster because I was trying to get a piece of toast out with a fork and it started smoking and now I have no idea what I’m meant to do because I think I’ve broken it. And then, when I do find the manual, I can’t find the relevant information no matter how many times I’ve flipped through every single page because half of it is in Japanese and the other half is in German and where on earth is the English???
It’s pretty much the same thing when it comes to the Bible (minus the trying to read other languages part). You see, unless we read through it daily, we won’t know what to do when things go wrong.
Using Scripture in Spiritual Battles
In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is tempted in the wilderness by satan. Each time He quotes scripture. This is the Son of God, God in human form; the Word quoting the word. Each time the enemy knows he has to try something else, because he can’t argue with scripture; he can bend it, distort it, misquote it, and abuse it, but he can’t argue with it. Knowing the word is crucial when it comes to fighting our spiritual battles. It’s both the shield we use to silence the enemy and the sword we use to counter-attack against his lies.
The Word for Spiritual Growth
But we don’t just use the word of God when things go wrong. We also use it to grow spiritually. Let’s face facts: we serve an incomprehensibly huge God. We can never hope to begin to fathom the depths of His love and boundless grace. The closest thing we have is the Bible. The Bible is how we find out who God is. It’s a love letter from a Father to His child. It’s a daily reminder of His presence. It’s the story of Creation, and the greatest triumph in history.
Knowing God Through His Word
One of my favourite series on YouTube is called Hot Ones. It’s hosted by a man named Sean Evans, who is well-known for the incredible amount of research that he does before every single episode. He doesn’t just want to find out where a celebrity was born or what car they drive; he goes deep into their lives and asks them questions that often leave them astounded as to how much he knows. You cannot claim to know someone if you only actually know about them. There is a huge difference. For example, I know about Denzel Washington. I know he was born in 1954. I know he has starred in some of the greatest movies ever made. And I know he is a deeply committed Christian. I know quite a lot about him. But I can never claim to actually know him. The only way we can know God is by reading His word and engaging with Him in prayer. That is the only way we can fathom His character, His essence, the basics of who He is and what He wants us to do. The Bible contains some of the greatest literature ever written. The Sermon on the Mount has been described as the single most influential speech ever made. The Bible is full of instructions on how to live life and how to live as a Christian. Simply put, it is extremely difficult to live life as a true Christian without reading the words of Scripture.
The Importance of Daily Engagement
The problem with many Christians is that the only time they ever engage with the Bible is on a Sunday, when they sit in church and turn to a single passage for the pastor to explain. They don’t read it on a daily basis. They don’t turn to it regularly. They cannot quote verses other than John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11, and pretty much anything else you might see on a mug or a T-shirt. And that is a worry. Because you cannot hope to grow as a Christian unless you feast daily on the word of God; unless you make it a meal to digest and ponder on and meditate on. It’s not enough just to read the verse of the day on the Bible App and then tick that task off in your mind. You need to contemplate what it means, ask God how it applies to your life, and strive to allow it to change who you are and how you live. That is how faith grows through the word of God.
For free online prayer, submit a prayer request to Need Prayer.