Sipping with a Hole in My Straw

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law."

Psalm 119:18

Despite my best intentions this year really to glean application from my Bible reading, I don't always do so. Sometimes I just feel that there is nothing to glean from a passage. I feel as dry and parched after my reading as I did before. Does this ever happen to you?

Thinking about this situation, I realized that the amount of wisdom I receive from a passage usually coincides with my attitude as I begin reading. Lately, I've felt that my Bible reading is a duty, and my attentnion to it has been perfunctory. Consequently, it hasn't been easy to figure out what God wants me to do with these words in my life.

I contrasted this with a particularly fruitful time in my life spiritually. I was waking up early and spending time with God, reading His word and writing in my prayer journal. Also, before I began reading, I would pray Psalm 119:18. These words gave me an expectation that the verses I would read would speak to my particular condition on that day and would lead me to a truth that God wanted me to discover. It awakened me to Hebrews 4:12!

I realize that simply reading the Bible for the sake of reading is like trying to sip water through a straw with a hole in it. Little of the life-giving water makes it to my parched mouth. By acknowledging that God will speak to me through His Word, I am able to drink down this life-giving water.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.