21 Days To Clarity, Day 2: Read the Bible

Click here for The Introduction

Click here for Day One




I told you this would be basic. I don’t mean to insult (or bore) any of you with the obvious, but I, for one, could use some reminding every now and again about the basics. Reading the Bible is one of those spiritual disciplines that is always at the top of my list of priorities, but is usually the first to go when I’m short on time. Why is that?

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word. (Psalm 119:37)

Maybe it’s because in the U.S. we live in a culture saturated with Christian things: Christian music, Christian coffee houses, Christian books, Christian blogs, Christian schools, Christian calendars, Christian bumper stickers, Christian picture frames, Christian fast food. Living out our busy lives in the midst of our Christian culture can lull us into a false sense of intimacy with God and the Sacred Scriptures. I’m not saying having a Bible verse scrolled across your coffee mug is a bad thing. I’m just saying, on busy days I find myself resorting to whatever scriptures I happen to bump into along the way in order to feed my hungry spirit. I would never feed my physical body that way. Why would I treat my spirit-man with such neglect?

I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word. (Psalm 119:16)

When someone tells me she has a difficult time hearing God’s voice, either in general or about a specific situation, the first thing I ask her is, “Are you spending time in the Word?” I often ask myself the exact same question. And inevitably I find that the people who spend the most time reading and studying the Holy Bible are the ones who hear God’s voice most clearly.

Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts. (Psalm 119:98-100)


And even if they do not hear Him on every single matter, the ones immersing themselves in the Truth are the ones with the most peace and the most trust concerning the silence.

Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors. (Psalm 119:24)

I realize God can and does speak to individuals through dreams, visions and audible voices. Individuals who have neither knowledge of nor access to the written Word. Over the years, I’ve heard many missionaries report this sort of thing when reaching a remote area or people group. But if you are reading this blog (i.e. have access to the internet, and therefore access to the Bible in every known translation at the click of a mouse) then that ain’t you. And it ain’t me.


Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
for I believe in your commands. (Psalm 119:66)

We are the privileged generation of believers who have unlimited and unrestricted access to the Word of God. I have no excuse for letting days and days go by without so much as picking it up and cracking it open, much less studying it, meditating upon it, and writing it on my heart.


Give me understanding, and I will keep your law
and obey it with all my heart. (Psalm 119:34)

So today will you turn over a new leaf with me? Today can we decide that if we want to hear God’s voice, then we must make the Word of God the top priority of our spiritual lives? Not to add another thing to our to-do list. Not to give the Enemy one more thing for which to condemn us if we fail to follow through. But instead, to get us intimately acquainted with the One whose voice we seek!

Because if you ever wondered what God’s voice sounds like, I can tell you with 100% assurance that it sounds exactly like His Word.


Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long. (Psalm 119:97)

Click here for day 3