CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HOW TO ENJOY GOD
BY MATCHING READING WITH PRAYING
Scripture Reading: Psa. 119:147-148; John 15:7; Dan. 9:2-4; 2 Cor. 3:6
READING AND PRAYING NEEDING TO BE COMBINED
This is the last chapter in the series concerning how to enjoy God. God has ordained two ways for man to enjoy Him. The first is through prayer, and the second is through reading the Bible. Praying and reading the Bible are as necessary as man’s two feet. In the previous chapters we combined praying and reading the Bible. Strictly speaking, we are not combining them, because they naturally go together. When we walk, we exercise our left and right feet. Every person who enjoys and absorbs God knows from experience that prayer should accompany the reading of God’s Word and that reading the Bible should accompany prayer. Praying without reading is the same as walking with one foot, and reading without praying is also the same as walking with one foot. In order to walk normally on the pathway of enjoying God, we cannot have one “foot” without the other. This means that whenever we absorb God, we need to match our prayer with reading and our reading with prayer.
It is difficult to decide whether reading or praying should come first. This is the same as considering which foot should move first when we walk. When we walk, we are unconscious of which foot moves first. Similarly, it is not only difficult but also unnecessary to decide whether we should pray or read first when we enjoy God. It is foolishness to instruct someone to always use their right foot or their left foot whenever they walk. They simply need to walk. There is no need to explain to the brothers and sisters what to do first and what to do next when they absorb God. Sometimes it may be more convenient to pray first and then read. At other times it may be more convenient to read first and then pray.
The Bible does not give us a particular sequence. In Psalm 119:147-148, when the psalmist rose in the morning, he first cried out and then mused upon the Lord’s word. These verses say, “I anticipated the dawn and cried out; / I hoped in Your words. / My eyes anticipated the night watches, / That I might muse upon Your word.” The psalmist prayed and then read the Word. In John 15:7 the Lord said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” Here the order is first the Lord’s word and then asking. In other words, the order is first reading and then praying. Which sequence is correct? Both are correct. Sometimes we pray first and then read God’s Word. At other times we read the Word and then pray. This shows that reading the Word and praying go together; they are parallel to each other.
The Lord Being Enjoyed by Us
in the Spirit and in the Word
The Scriptures and our experience confirm this. We enjoy God through prayer and reading the Word. In a previous chapter we saw that the Lord is the Spirit, the Lord is the Word, and the Word is the Spirit. If the Lord did not want us to enjoy Him, He would not need to be the Word, and He would not need to be the Spirit; He would not need to be our food and our drink. He is the Word, and He became the Spirit so that we can contact Him, absorb Him, eat Him, drink Him, and enjoy Him. He has only one purpose for us—that we would receive Him as the Word and as the Spirit. The Word is for us to receive. The Spirit is also for us to receive. The Word is visible and outside of us, and the Spirit is touchable and inside of us. One is visible, and the other is invisible. One is outside of us, and the other is inside of us. If we have only the Spirit and not the Word, the light we receive will not be clear. If we have only the Word and not the Spirit, the light we receive may be clear, but it will not be deep. In order to be clear, deep, accurate, and inwardly shining, we need the Word and the Spirit. The Lord must be both the Spirit and the Word.
In the book of Exodus God’s presence came through the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. The pillar of cloud typifies the Spirit, and the pillar of fire typifies the Bible. In the daytime the pillar of cloud led God’s children. At night when it was difficult to see the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire gave them light. Actually, the pillar of fire at night was the pillar of cloud in the day. Without the pillar of fire, God’s children would not have had light at night. In the same way, if we only have the Spirit without the Bible, our vision of God will be unclear at “night.” We thank God that He has given us both the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. He has given us both the Spirit and the Scriptures. When we are inwardly in the light, it seems as if the Spirit as the pillar of cloud is sufficient, but when we are inwardly in darkness, we also need the Word. However, the Bible in itself is only letters. If we do not use our spirit, the Bible will not give us life. Having the Spirit without the Word may lead to error, and having the Bible without the Spirit may lead to death. In order to be accurate and living, we need to use our spirit to contact the Spirit and the Word.
The Lord has given us the Spirit and the Bible for our enjoyment. The Spirit within us and the Bible outside of us are indispensable. It is best to mingle reading with praying and praying with reading when we eat and drink the Lord. Shortly after we close our eyes to pray, we may open them to read the Lord’s word, and after reading for a few minutes, we may want to close our eyes to pray. In this way reading and praying are mingled to the extent that our reading is praying and our praying is reading. Within our reading is praying, and within our praying is reading. The two have become one, enabling us to touch, enjoy, and obtain God.