Some Tips for Reading the Bible
- Before you read the Bible always pray that God will help you to understand what you read and to put His Word into practice in your daily life.
- Set aside a few minutes every day just for Bible reading - in the morning, afternoon, or before you go to bed - whenever is best for you. Don't say you don't have time. You can make the time. Everybody, no matter how busy, can set aside 5 or 10 minutes every day for Bible reading.
- Don’t read too much at one time. Concentrating on a few verses and what they mean is far better than skimming through a whole chapter superficially. But if the Bible is totally new to you, you might want to read through a whole book quickly just to get a senseof the whole and then go back and focus on smaller passages.
- As you read the Bible, try to focus on what this passage means for us today and how we can actively apply the Bible’s teachings to our lives today. The Bible is not just a history book--it is the record of God’s Word and our guide for Christian living!
- Don’t worry about passages that seem strange to you or that you don’t understand. Ask God to help you to understand them in time. Any Bible verse has to be understood in terms of its immediate context and in context of the entire Bible and the life of the Church as a whole. Always beware of people who quote a Bible verse in isolation and draw strange conclusions from it.
- The Bible is the Book of the Church. It is the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit that is the proper interpreter of Scripture, not any one individual (including ourselves). Therefore, for any question of Biblical interpretation we must seek to learn what the Church teaches on it.
Prayer from the Divine Liturgy before the Reading of the Gospel
Shine in our hearts, O Merciful Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our mind that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel; implant in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, that we, trampling down all carnal desires, may enter upon a spiritual manner of living - both thinking and doing all those things that please You. For You are the Source of Light for our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto You we ascribe glory, together with Your Eternal Father, and Your All-Holy, Good, and Life-Giving Spirit, now and for ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
