Spiritual Disciplines for Deeper Intimacy With God and Spiritual GrowthSample

Guidance and Reading the Bible

The discipline of reading the Bible and making enough time for reading it is not as easy as we think. We always have so many things to do that we struggle to also find time to fit in reading the Bible. The two wrong words in the previous sentence are fit and also. The principle is wrong. God cannot be fitted in.

People struggle to find guidance and know the will of God because they do not know the word. God made His will very clear in Scripture, but we struggle because we do not know the scriptures. Jesus answered, "You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God" (Matthew 22:29).

Without the Holy Spirit, there is no guidance. And the Holy Spirit guides according to scripture. The guidance of the Holy Spirit is always in line with the word of God. As Christians, we need to learn to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit–which happens often when we read the Bible–because the Holy Spirit is the real author of the Bible.

Maybe the biggest reason people struggle to find God's guidance is our lack of neutrality. Too often, we pray for guidance, but we have already decided what would be "best." So often, there is so much of self, our personal preferences, ambitions and personal comfort, that we pray and cannot hear anything because we are not neutral about the issue.

Obedience: Prayerfully consider the following verses and ask the Holy Spirit how to apply them in your life.

But when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:13).

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Ps.119:105).