A Prayer to Desire More of God’s Word
By Ashley Moore
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” - Psalm 119:103, ESV
Can I confess something to you? As a new believer from a completely unchurched family, I would get bored reading the Bible and fall asleep. In my defense, my first Bible was a KJV, and no shade if that is your favorite translation, but as someone new to the faith, I struggled to follow along. Everything I read was so very foreign.
I remember being prompted by what I know now was the Holy Spirit to begin reading the Bible for myself. But I just wanted to quit; I easily lost focus in those early days, and I found the Bible so hard to understand. I got so convicted when I would hear passages like Psalm 119 taught, where God’s people talked about loving His Word as much as they loved tasty food! I couldn’t relate, and it baffled and further frustrated me that I didn’t share the same sentiment!
Have you ever been there? Does reading God’s Word intimidate you? Do you lean on others to preach and teach the Word to you rather than dig in to discover the truth for yourself? Or do you mostly leave your Bible unopened on the bookshelf or tucked away in a drawer somewhere?
I get it! I have struggled with or succumbed to each of the situations above too! But then, I did something really simple. In my conviction, confusion, and frustration, I turned to God for help. I asked Him if He would increase my desire to read His Word.
It wasn’t instant, but over time I have developed a deep love and passion for Scripture. To which I credit God for changing my heart and mind about the Bible. And I slowly learned that reading my Bible was less about my complete understanding of every passage and more about meeting with God and discovering more about who He is and what He is like! And that has changed everything.
Can I encourage you to pray the same simple prayer?
Let’s pray:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for giving us the Word. Thank You that Scripture is alive and active and that it cuts through us and changes us from the inside out (Hebrews 4:12). Lord, you know how much resistance we face as we try to obey You and abide in You by reading Your Word. It seems like everything is stacked against us. We have an enemy that wants to destroy our relationship with you and distract us with temptation and lies (John 10:10). And we have our sinful nature that resists what is good and longs for things that are not good for us like Paul describes in Romans 7:15. Lord, forgive us when we are so easily led astray.
Thank you for not leaving us frustrated and confused. Rather Your Word teaches us that if any of us lacks wisdom, we can ask You and You will give it to us generously (James 1:5). And thank You that Your Word also teaches us that inside its pages is the power to renew our minds and change the ways we think and even our desires (Romans 12:2). But, Lord we wouldn’t know any of that if it wasn’t for your Word.
So, Lord, we all pray this very simple request, knowing that it glorifies you, God. Would you change our desires? Would you help us to desire your Word more than any fleeting earthly temptation? Would you protect our hearts and renew our minds as we dive into the Scripture? Would you help us to focus and give us wisdom as we read?
Would you help us to get creative as we read and find ways to make our time studying enjoyable? Maybe draw us to a group of friends to read the Word with so we don’t have to read it alone. Lord, most of all, give us the endurance to keep reading even when we don’t quite understand, trusting that as we fill ourselves, You promise that Your Word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11). We pray all these things in Jesus’ name, amen.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Vichien Petchmai
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