Start your day with quick daily devotions: February 6, 2021

Scripture reading - Psalm 145: 17-21

The Lord is close to all who invoke him, to all who invoke him in truth. - Psalm 145: 18

Many years ago, at a Beijing university, I asked a classroom of about 100 Chinese students to raise their hand if they ever prayed. About 70 percent of them raised their hand.

Broadly defining prayer, many people around the world say they pray. But we have to ask: "Who or what do they pray to?"

When Christians pray, they don't just cast wishes at an impersonal cosmos. Christian prayer speaks to the divine Creator of the universe, the one true God who is the Lord of heaven and earth.

And how do we know this God? Although God revealed himself in his creation, we can only know God personally through his written Word and through prayer. Consequently, prayer and Bible reading cannot be separated. We cannot know God as our Father in Heaven, or how to live for him and serve him in his world, unless we are immersed in his Word, listening, meditating and communicating with him the truth we find there.

So it would be wise to take to heart an old Sunday school hymn that reminds us: “Read your Bible; pray every day. Obviously this is not a magic formula; it's just good advice to know who we pray to, how God wants us to pray and what we should pray for. Praying without God's Word in our hearts puts us at risk of simply “sending wishes”.

Prayer

Lord, help us open our Bibles to see who you are so we can pray to you in spirit and truth. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.