Andrea Sanborn

I escaped the heat of the camp kitchen, dishes washed and stacked for the next meal, and made my way to the meadow. Pine shadows greeted me creekside, and I settled onto a rock with my brand new Bible.

It was one made for teenagers like me, in my language, pages of helpful words to introduce the timeless ones. I flipped through it, feeling like I’d come home.

Near the front I discovered a reading plan, and I caught my breath. What if I read the whole thing? What would I discover?

I had no way of knowing that simple curiosity would launch me on a lifetime habit.

I was 14, and that daily habit has formed my life, my understanding, my choices, and my loves. It’s held me, nourished me, encouraged me, and kept me for 50 years now.

I can safely say that it all comes down to this: will I come to Him again today?

Devotions. Morning Watch. Daily Office. Quiet Time. This habit has carried many names over the years. But they all boil down to two simple things: Scripture reading, and prayer.

God’s words are living and active, it says in Hebrews. I have found that to be true in my own life as I have read and re-read those precious words, day after day after day.

Many people want more. They search for God’s “manifest presence”, they say. Signs and wonders. It was no different in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees asked, too, and Herod hoped he’d perform one. But by far the greatest sign and wonder is on our bedside table. In our bookshelf. On our phone. Miraculously preserved over millennia, waiting to be opened and beheld by hungry hearts.

Others, intimidated by the thought of reading it, perhaps, substitute human writings or podcasts, coasting on others’ opinions, instead of forming their own. Never tasting for themselves the sweetness of discovery.

All of us fall into the tyranny of the urgent. We can quickly forget the wonder of finding God in those pages. Of finding ourselves, even. We come to the Book through sheer obedience at times, glancing at our watches or to-do lists with a sigh.

Sometimes we come away with more questions than answers. We run up against things we don’t like, forgetting how limited is our perspective compared to His.

But we don’t give up. This book imparts wisdom. Comfort. Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.

“The Spirit gives life”, Jesus told us. “the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”
‭‭(John‬ ‭6‬:‭63‬)‭

We must keep reading, listening for the voice of the Author, and we must keep praying, laying our hearts bare before Him. Because there, in those sanctified moments, we find refreshment. Comfort. Forgiveness. Correction. Encouragement. Through His Word and His Spirit, we quench our dry and thirsty souls.

How you cultivated a daily habit of Bible reading and prayer? Joined the storied and unsung faithful through the ages? It’s simple, really. Such a seemingly small thing, but like the smallest of seeds, a sturdy tree can grow, rooted and vibrant, bearing the sweetest of fruit.

Despite all of our well-meaning plans and programs, it truly all does come down to this: will we come to Him again today?