We should also have an attitude of coming to receive the life supply. We should never come to the Bible to seek knowledge or study facts. This can be compared to studying the rice, meat, and vegetables on the table instead of eating them so that we can be nourished and supplied. The Bible is a treasure store of the spiritual bread of life. Thus, we should always have the attitude of taking the bread of life from this treasure store for our supply. This is not merely a matter of understanding or comprehending with our mind; it is a matter of receiving the life supply from the Bible with our spirit. This point must be emphasized. We must change our concept. We should not say in our heart, “I come to the Bible in order to study it.” The proper attitude is to regard the Bible as a treasure store of the bread of life from which we draw the bread of life and are supplied. We read the Bible in order to obtain the life supply.
We should also have an attitude of coming to receive enlightenment and not to study the truth. To study the truth is one attitude, and to receive enlightenment is another. In studying the truth we need only our mind, but to receive enlightenment, we need our heart and our spirit. We need to come before God and say, “I want to touch the light in Your Word. My heart and my spirit are open to You. Lord, enlighten me through Your Word. As I read, grant me not only the understanding, but even more, shine Your light through Your Spirit on the letters. Enlighten me concerning Your heart’s desire and expose my true condition. I do not want merely to comprehend, but even more I want to see. I want enlightenment and revelation.”
We should also learn to pray when we read the Bible. We should spontaneously have a prayer deep within us, saying, “Lord, I come to Your Word to contact You, not merely to read. Cause my heart to incline toward You and my spirit to open to You. Cause me to love You more than knowledge and doctrine. May my inner being be nourished and enlightened by Your Word.” We should have this kind of prayer, intention, and attitude.
Those who read the Bible must realize what the Word of God is and have a proper attitude toward the Word of God. Many do not read the Bible properly because they lack this preparation. If we are well prepared with regard to these two points, it will be much easier for us to read the Bible in a proper way. We will immediately be on the proper path to touch life, to come to the light, and to fellowship with God in life and light. In other words, we will contact God, and in Him and through His Word, receive the life supply and the revelation in light. Only then can we gain the real benefit from the Bible. This is not a matter of knowledge or a matter of truth.
A person who obtains nourishment and receives revelation will spontaneously have understanding. However, the nourishment and revelation he receives is above and beyond understanding. We must have such an attitude in reading the Bible.
We have been studying different ways to read the Bible for many years. We have even published books such as How to Study the Bible. But what we would speak of today is the simplest and most practical way to read the Bible. There are many ways to read the Bible that either require too much time or are too demanding for new believers. We should give new believers a simple way to read the Bible. The Bible can be read when one is at work or at school. Even if a person is very busy, it is still possible to read a short portion of the Bible. This is a very convenient way of reading the Bible.
First, we should read the books of the Bible sequentially. Some new believers read the Bible randomly. When they rise in the morning, they shut their eyes and open to any page in the Bible. If they happen to open to the book of Psalms, they read a psalm, and if they open to the book of Revelation, they read Revelation; they simply read whatever page they open to. If the page they open to contains a difficult portion, they may avoid it and go to another page. If they come to an easy portion, they may read for a short period of time. This is not acceptable. The Bible must be read consecutively and not randomly. Having a responsibility before God, believers should not randomly approach the Bible. We need to read the easy portions as well as the difficult ones. Even if we do not understand a portion in the Bible, we still need to read it. Hence, we should always read in sequence. For example, we should even read all the names in the genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17.
We should read the Old Testament and the New Testament simultaneously. We should not wait until we finish reading the Old Testament before reading the New Testament. We should read the Old Testament consecutively beginning with the book of Genesis and at the same time read the New Testament consecutively beginning with the book of Matthew.
Every Christian should allocate two different times to daily read the Bible. One time should be in the morning, and the other can also be in the morning or in the afternoon or evening. According to the experience of many Christians, it is best to read the New Testament in the morning and the Old Testament during the other time. We should read a consecutive portion during both times.