In the previous lesson, we covered the first means of fellowship with God, which is prayer. Now we come to the second means, which is reading the Bible.
We do not need doctrines concerning reading the Bible. Rather, I want to point out a practical method for us to practice so that we can fellowship with God through Bible reading. Therefore, this kind of reading of the Bible is different from a common way of reading it. Whenever we speak of reading the Bible, our natural concept is that it refers to understanding the Bible and knowing the contents of the Bible. However, reading the Bible as a means to fellowship with God is neither for understanding the Bible nor for knowing the contents of the Bible; rather, it is entirely for fellowshipping with God and contacting Him. When we read the Bible in this way, we need to remember the following points.
When we read the Bible for the purpose of fellowship, we should not read for the purpose of seeking to understand it. This seems to be a contradictory statement. If we do not seek to understand the Bible, why should we still read it? Apparently, everyone who reads the Bible seeks to understand it, but reading the Bible for fellowship is different from a common reading of the Bible. This kind of reading is absolutely not for knowing the Bible but for contacting God Himself and having fellowship with Him. If we read the Bible with the intention of understanding it, it will be difficult for us to enter into fellowship. Therefore, we need to resolve the matter that in reading the Bible to fellowship with God, we should not intend to seek an understanding of it. Even if we do not seek to understand the Bible, we will still understand a little as a result of reading in this way. This will be spontaneous. But before we begin to read, we should not have the intention to try to understand and know it.
If we come to the Bible with such an intention, we will encounter a great hindrance, a distraction, in our fellowship with God. An intention to understand the Bible in our fellowship with God makes it difficult for many of us to have good fellowship with God. Therefore, we must give up this intention whenever we come to God for fellowship through reading the Bible; we should simply come to fellowship with God through His Word without caring whether or not we understand it.
It is not easy to let go of this intention; it requires much consideration and practice. However, only when we learn to be delivered from this intention to understand the Bible can we properly learn to fellowship with God. In addition, only through reading the Bible in this way can we truly understand the Bible. Only those who do not seek a hasty understanding of the Bible will eventually know the Bible well. This is amazing. Many people can confirm this through their experience.
When reading the Bible to fellowship with God, we need to avoid study and research. We should not study, nor should we research; we simply need to read it. We still need to study and research the Bible, but this should be done at another time when we can use reference books, such as concordances and Bible dictionaries, in order to study the Bible in a detailed way. This is called studying the Bible, not reading the Bible for fellowship with God. We should never study the Bible when fellowshipping with God. This also requires much practice. Although I have been practicing this for a long time, I am still often tempted to study the Bible when fellowshipping with the Lord. At times I consulted a concordance, and at other times I referred to footnotes. As a result, even though I was studying the Bible with my mind, there was no fellowship with the Lord in my spirit, and thus, the fellowship with the Lord that morning was ruined.
Hence, we must avoid studying during this kind of reading of the Bible. If we understand the Bible when we are reading it, this is fine, and if we do not understand it, we should not be concerned. Some may ask, “What if I cannot correctly pronounce the words?” If you cannot pronounce the words correctly, just pronounce the words incorrectly. This is not a problem. We must absolutely, completely, and wholly let go of studying and researching. The less effort we exert in reading the Bible, the better and the more spontaneous our reading will be. Do not seek to understand, study, or research. The more spontaneous we are, the better will be our fellowship with God. We need to put all our efforts, energy, and intention into fellowshipping with God rather than studying the words of the Bible. If we read a portion of the Bible in a spontaneous way, we will definitely touch God in our fellowship.
We also should not read the Bible too fast, and neither should we read it too slowly. We should read as much as we can, without intending to read too much. There is what I would call a temptation to read the Bible too fast. Everyone who reads the Bible is tempted to read fast. After reading the first verse, we are tempted to quickly go on to the second verse, or we are tempted to quickly finish reading one portion in order to read the next portion. When we read concerning the death of Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10), we are tempted to read faster in order to know what their father said concerning their death. When we read Numbers 17 where God told Moses to put twelve rods before Him, we are tempted to learn the result related to these twelve rods. This kind of fast and quick reading is common, but it is a great interruption to our fellowship with God. Therefore, we must practice to be calm, spontaneous, and not hasty when we read the Bible to fellowship with God. We should simply read according to the time we have available, not intending to read fast or to read too much. We may read one chapter, one paragraph, one verse, one sentence, or even a few words. What matters is that we touch God in fellowship.