If you feel disinclined to pray, or to read your Bible; if when you pray and read your Bible, you have no heart; if you are inclined to make your secret devotions short, or are easily induced to neglect them; or if your thoughts, affections, and emotions wander, you may know that you are a backslider in heart, and your first business is to be broken down before God, and to see that your love and zeal are renewed.
- Charles Finney, LECTURES ON REVIVALS OF RELIGION #XXI
Wow. Why aren't preachers so bold nowadays? If even a fraction of shepherds would be so inclined as to tell us that our hearts are backslidden if we are disinclined to pray and read God's word, well, I think it would be a wake-up call to 97% of the "Christian" population. This is how I feel, I never know that I will come across as judgmental in saying so... I've found this so So SO true in my own life - when I cannot focus on God, or would much rather focus on other things, on things of this world, that is when I begin to backslide. I would be so bold as to assert that most Christians live in a state of backsliding. Here's why I think so;
"According to a recent Gallup poll, about six in ten Americans (59%) say they read the Bible at least on occasion, with the most likely readers being women, non-whites, older people, Republicans, and political conservatives. Readership of the Bible has declined from the 1980s overall, from 73% to 59% today. The percentage of frequent readers, that is, those who read the Bible at least once a week, has decreased slightly over the last decade, from 40% in 1990 to 37% today. About one American in seven reports an involvement that goes beyond reading the Bible. Fourteen percent currently belong to a Bible study group. In terms of frequency of readership, 16% of Americans say that they read the Bible every day, 21% say they read it weekly, 12% say they read the Bible monthly, 10% say less than monthly and 41% say that they rarely or never read the Bible." (www.centerforbibleengagement.org)
And for some reason I feel that of 16% of Americans who SAY they read their Bible every day, (to be frank) some percentage is lying (but let's not get legalistic- the point isn't how often you read your Bible, it is how you read it). Which brings me to the second thing - how does that 16% read their Bible? Is it just to get through the Bible in a year, and not actually absorb or retain anything, is it to find a way to refute it, to win a debate against a non-Christian, or is it hungrily, with passion and desire? I'll be the second to admit that, though I strive to, I do not always read my Bible with as much passion as I would, say a Ted Dekker novel, the shame is on me.
What about shortening secret devotions? Do we ever do that? In light of all our homework, sleep deprivation, bi-weekly chapel, a job, eating, and socializing, not to mention actually attending class, that is okay, right? I mean, honestly God is all knowing, I'm sure he understands... Yeah He does, but I don't think we do. God knows that He is the source of life, and if we neglect Him we will surely perish. I guess we must not know that, or we don't mind killing ourselves. Either/or we are to blame for shortening our devotions, not friends, or food, or professors, or heavy eyelids, and definitely not God - he is blame free. Maybe I'm not preaching to the choir though - maybe you don't even have secret devotions... or maybe you have devotions, but you have them somewhere where EVERYONE can see how holy you are, in that case congratulations Pharisee. I'll admit, I underline stuff in my Bible, and it is always nice when people notice this when we flip to an obscure passage in church. But hopefully, that is not the extent of my reason for highlighters...
Time with Christ is a very intimate thing, you probably wouldn't have sex with ten people gathered around staring at you, would you? I know that personally I feel kind of awkward even with my roomie in the room.
So let's keep the secret secret, and share when God prompts us to, shall we?
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