Marilyn and I made a decision about five years ago to embrace the discipline of reading the Bible and praying together every morning. At first we read along with an audio recording on the Bible ap. We started with the Psalms and Proverbs for 31 days. (You can read all the Psalms and Proverbs in 31 days by reading 5 Psalms a day and 1 Proverb.) It is a good way to build a habit.

We followed up each reading with prayer. We did this at our first meeting in the morning before we went to our separate tasks. I say “our first meeting” because she gets up earlier than I do these days. For most of our married life this was not the case; but, as it turns out, we just are not on the same schedule.

That having been said, the important take away is that we do this together. The Bible says “For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20. Think of this: “a threefold cord is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

So, early prayers in the Presence of the Lord (the third cord), have to be effective, right? Working together in agreement is quite effective.

From praying through the Psalms and Proverbs we went to reading and praying through the entire Bible. For the next four years we read the entire Bible through every year at least once. Once we did it in 6 months. That’s a lot of reading but not much studying. Don’t discount that, however. Being familiar with the Bible is the the beginning of wisdom and God says: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11.

So, of course, just reading the Word has its benefits. I have always found that when I start the day with God’s Word things fall into place much better than if I miss that early time of reading and prayer. I also believe it pleases God that we have developed this habit. I don’t think it is adequate in itself, but the consistency is a blessing. We follow the same principle in giving. We have made a habit of it, and we have reaped the benefits of being givers.

And now our daily reading and prayer time has evolved into reading the Bible aloud to each other. There is something very powerful in speaking the Word of God aloud in your own voice. I read the chosen chapter in the King James Version and Marilyn reads the same chapter in the Amplified version of the Bible. That way we get two “takes” on the chapter: this really helps our understanding. Occasionally, I consult a concordance to get the Hebrew or Greek meaning of a word. That can be very helpful.

For instance, in John 21:15-17, where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, the English does not differentiate between the words that Jesus used for “Love.” The first time He asks Peter “Do you love Me?” Jesus uses the word Agape: this means “unconditional love” in Greek. Peter replies, “Lord, you know I love you,” but he uses the word “phileo,” which is the word for “brotherly love.” This reveals Peter’s chagrin and humility. He had denied Jesus three times before the crucifixion. Jesus is confronting Peter after His resurrection and is restoring him to fellowship by giving him opportunity to reaffirm his allegiance to Christ three times. Understanding the different words for love used in this passage enhances our understanding of the passage.

I also find that reading the Word chapter by chapter really deepens my understanding by giving context to the Word. Too long has the church been subjected to preaching based on passages taken out of context and patched together to support questionable doctrines. If you know the context of the passages you can properly understand what God was, is, and will be saying to the Church of the future, because His Word does not change.

We can only be like the Berean Church (Acts 17) if we stay familiar with His Word. The Bereans were a people that listened to the preaching of Paul gladly, but diligently studied the Word afterwards to confirm that what Paul was preaching was true according to the scriptures. As a result, many were converted to Christ.

The point here is that discernment starts with a familiarization with the Word. The Bible is a touchstone, our reference point, the Northern star that keeps our navigation true.