What does it mean to draw near to God? Part 2

In part 1 we discussed the importance of prayer, and a new perspective on prayer, as a way to Draw near. We talked a lot about the lines of communication being open and how it affects our relationships if we have poor communication. Prayer is our way of talking to God. Be warned however, Do not use God as a vending machine. Always taking and never giving, always talking and never listening. If prayer is our line of communication to God then how does he communicate with us?

Bible Reading

Since we don't have the privilege of living in the time that Jesus walked the earth, or  hearing the audible voice of God it is essential to go to the book he has given us. The bible, God's way of communicating with us. This may seem like a daunting task to many. How do I know where to start? How much do I read? What if I don't understand what I am reading?

Here's where I may catch a little flack for what I am writing, this is completely my opinion, so take it or leave it.

I don't think I am a typical bible reader. Here's why... growing up as a preachers daughter I knew the importance of reading the bible, there was no question that it was essential but everyone had opinions on what you should read, how long you should read, and particularly what version you should read. Honestly, reading the bible for me was more of a "because it was an obligation" to read this much, in this amount of time, regardless of my understanding it or not. It wasn't actually until just recently that I really realized what I have known all along needed to be put into practice. Reading the bible is not just something to mark off your check list. There are no rules as to how much, where, or what version you should read. Most of my life Bible reading has been a regimented, guilt ridden, structured by someone else reading plan, that didn't at all apply to my life or grow my relationship with the Lord. For this reason I really tend to bristle up when someone tries to tell me what I should be reading or how I should be reading. There came a point just a few years ago that I decided "This is ridiculous. I am not getting any closer to God. I'm not hearing from him like I should be. This is not an open line of communication" All because I was trying to follow the Bible reading rules.

I would encourage you, if you are in this situation, LET GO OF THE RULES. God wants to talk to you, he wants to reveal his wonderful plan for you, he wants you to seek him and be interested in what he has to say.

Here's what I did to break the stigma that I had about bible reading...

1. Ditch the plans. If you are reading a plan out of obligation to a plan, then ditch it. When I read on a reading plan I was just reading to check off that days box. I wasn't getting anything AT ALL. I started paving my own course in the things that I needed to hear from God. It started on Blueletterbible.com,  they had a great search tool that I liked to use. I would search a word that I felt that day or needed to hear a passage or promise on. Comfort, fear, pride, patience, safety, confidence, etc... It would bring up tons of scripture references, easy to click on, change versions to read, etc. This for me revolutionized how I heard from God! It was something that I directly needed to hear that day, it applied to what was going on in my life, and I chose it!!! I loved it. It got to the point that I spent more time searching words and reading scripture than I did anything else. It was great! If you don't know where to start try something like this! If you absolutely NEED a plan to follow along with start by reading a Proverb a day. There are 31 of them so you will have 1 chapter to read each day! You can head over to thejourneybloomington.com and follow along with our churches reading plan; or search the Internet, Youversion has a lot of great reading plans geared toward specific subject matters.

2. Read a version you can understand! Yes, I know, there are hundreds of opinions on this and I am not going to debate it because God didn't call me to waist my time debating opinions; but for what it's worth, here's mine. If you don't understand what your reading, it isn't doing you ANY good at all!! My whole life I grew up reading KJV, memorized hundreds of memory verses in KJV, nothing wrong with KJV if you understand it but I have a hard time in some spots really understanding it. My grandfather, who was a grown man well into his 40's, maybe even 50's, before he learned how to read, learned to read the bible from the New Century Version. This was my first exposure to another version, as an 8 year old, I finally understood what some of those verses I had locked in my brain meant. It shed a new light on things. As I've grown and bought bibles of my own I have tried a few new versions over the years, ESV, NLT, NKJV, NIV, etc... I will say my favorite version to read from right now is the NLT. It is modern English, easy to read, and a good interpretation. Since I dropped the stigma of only reading one version I have learned so much more some of my friends are having a heart attack as they read this. In the age of technology the Internet is a wonderful tool. You can even compare some versions side by side on certain sites. Start online, reading different versions, and then when you find one you like purchase a bible in that version.

3. Make it a habit. It doesn't matter if it is one verse, one chapter, one minute. Start small and create a habit out of it. If you can do it at the same time each day it is easier to make it a habit, if not do it when you can. There are no rules. Just remember that good relationships have 2 way communication. If you go a day without hearing from your spouse you feel funny, it's weird, you don't like it. This is the way it should be with bible reading, you should long to hear from God each day.

This, along with prayer, will open your relationship with God and take it to whole new levels. As with prayer, let this be something your kids see is important to you. So what if it is not completely quiet when your trying to read, is it ever REALLY quiet with a house full of kids? Not only do your kids need to know that they can pray to God and ask for help, but they need to know where to turn when they need to hear from him. You are their life teacher, let them see you in the word. Share what you've learned with them. Commit scripture to memory so that when they are struggling with something you can share a verse with them whether you have a bible with you or not. Kids learn a lot from observing us, don't take that responsibility for granted!!

Make a commitment in 2014 to better your communication with God and really hear from him!! Draw Near!