Author: Dave Dishman (Page 316 of 475)

When I sit down to read from my Bible, or when I listen to the words of Scripture, I always try to preface my time with a simple prayer. A few words to help me focus, and more importantly, to invite the Holy Spirit’s involvement. I don’t want to just scan words across a page (which sometimes happens), but I hope the wisdom contained sinks deep roots into my heart.

The following are a few passages from scripture that I pray regularly, cycling through them at different times. I’ll share the passage and then the prayer I say from it.

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

Lord, as I read today, open my eyes and let me see the wonderful things in your law.

Psalm 119:18

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord.

Lord, please give me a heart to know you, and may this time in your word grow that heart.

jeremiah 24:7

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Lord, may this time in your word bring light to my path.

psalm 119:105

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 

Lord, I want to know you better. Please grant me your Spirit of wisdom and revelation as I spend time in your word.

ephesians 1:17

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

Lord, open my mind so that I can understand these Scriptures.

Luke 24:45

As you can see, I simply pray the line from scripture back to the Lord. It’s not hard, as long as I remember to do it, and I write these prayers in my journal so I won’t forget.

Inviting the Holy Spirit to read over my shoulder helps me gain the most from the time I devote to reading or listening to the Scriptures. On my own I gain head knowledge, but with the Holy Spirit I gain his knowledge.

Which is what I’m after.

Photo by Patrick Fore

As a person who likes to mess around in my yard and garden beds, I carry a distinct aversion to thorns. Most weeds popping up are simply annoying, but certain ones here in Colorado carry tiny thorns, painful when I grab the plant to yank it from the ground. These require leather gloves to pull without cussing (or at least with only a minimum of curses).

Jesus tells us of a sower, a planter of seed, who also dealt with thorns. Some of the seed fell upon rocky soil and failed to properly root. Others fell in an area infested with thorns. The seed grew, but the power of the thorns choked out the mature plants.

The parable refers to the word of God, and you and I the seed scattered across the fields. I picture myself in the field of thorns:

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

The phrase Jesus chose—the desire for other things—rings loud. What other things?

Literally, as I read this passage, I thought about checking a detail on the phone in my pocket. This very instant. I desire endless scrolling. I desire more stuff and more entertainment, and I’m already mourning the coming conclusion of the football season (while my wife rejoices). I desire to know the news of the world, and I hope to look good in the eyes of those around me.

One more desire bubbles up. I allow thorns to root in order to avoid the introspection the Holy Spirit brings, especially through quiet, unhindered time in the scriptures. The thorns suffocate his quiet voice, allowing me to roll forward in an oblivious haze of digital living.

In my garden, thorns take a practiced eye and thick gloves to clear. Thorns are ever present, and I’m always looking to nip them in the bud. In my life, I need the Lord to help me identify the thorns, and give me the grace and courage to clear them.

Here’s to a thornless, or more in line with real life—a thorn inhibited—2022.

Mark 4 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Jesse Dodds

Recently NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launched a new space telescope, aimed at the far reaches of the outer space. They hope to look further and deeper into our galaxy, wondering as we all do—what’s out there?

Like the scientists at NASA, David also found the stars fascinating. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Undoubtedly he gazed up and pondered the heavens during long nights standing guard over his father’s sheep.

David echos the creation account in Genesis, reminding us how the heavens point to our creator. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. God’s fingerprints cover the skies.

In the next breath David turned from the heavens, launched by the voice of God, to God’s voice in his hands—the Holy Scriptures. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. Firm—just like the heavens and the earth—and righteous—worthy of a long gaze.

David saw the wonder of God’s creation mirrored in the wonder of God’s word.

As I start this new year it’s helpful for me to remember that while the heavens remain accessible only from a distance, one treasure of God’s creation—the words of the Lord—rests in my hands.

Psalm 19 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by NASA