As a young child, there was thing song that we used to sing, “Read your Bible, pray every day…. pray every day…. pray every day… Read your Bible pray every day and you’ll grow… grow… grow..” Truth be told most of the poorest, emotional and petty people I have come across in my life are prayer warriors, know the Bible inside out and never miss Church on Sundays.

Well, they just knew that they need to read the Bible and pray everyday and they will automatically grow. They will automatically see in the spirit and be able to transcend all things be it finances, wealth and the highest realms of success.

They consistently wake up at 3am every day to pray, they ‘tell God something’ during the day and before they sleep. They attend mid-week Bible study sessions and fellowships, serve in Church and really dig the Bible to search the Spirit of God. They fast in the highest hills and mountains for days and have that Christianese lingo.

Ironically, when you meet them, they admire you. You that do not read the word and pray like them but you believe in God. They acknowledge that there is something deeper and glorious about you. You who are a broken vessel, you who are a scum to the church, the abomination of the society. They even ask you for a little handout and opportunities. So what might be wrong.

The church has reduced the knowledge of God into merely reading the Bible and praying everyday. They think that that is the essential conditions for the growth of any Christian. But look around, the ‘deepest’ ones are the brokest ones. They are the poorest. This is why.

A man of God tells this story of how he would consistently go pray at a certain place and a certain Indian would sit at a bench watching him. The Indian would spend time watching the man go round in circles, binding the devil and proclaiming things. The man of God would come and sit at the bench for a bit and then leave.

One day, the Indian asked him, “Am sorry but I see you praying every day and once you are done, you would come sit at the bench and leave immediately. When does your God talk to you? I only see you talking to Him all the time.”

The man of God pensively meditated on these words and thought, “Wait, I have been praying for the same things for over 10 years. I have been consistent in my walk, I have dug deep into the scriptures but my life isn’t changing. What am I doing wrong?”

After deeply asking himself these questions that’s when he realized that merely reading the Bible and praying every day is a scam to say the least. He realized that it not just a religious bondage but is a tact from the deepest pit of hell. Read on to know why.

God created man not to be a robot. He never created man so that he would do the same things over and over again like an automated system. He put in place times and seasons. This is why Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3 that there are times and seasons for everything.

The devil tricked man that the more he consistently does one thing over and over again at a specific time, he will gain favor from God. The devil, through religion, would tell man that it is through his prayer, reading of the scripture and going to Church on Sunday that will make him pleasing to God and successful in life.

This is why we have men who go to church on Sunday, give mere handouts as offering, sleep or use their phones during service and dearly wait for the service to end so that they can fulfill their obligation to the Lord. They do this to be in good books with God, family and the society. They have a view of God being a very harsh dictator who will punish them if they don’t read their Bibles, pray everyday and go to church on Sunday.

I am not against reading the Bible, I am not against daily prayer I am not against going to church on Sunday. I am strongly against making it religion and thinking that these things really please God and without doing them, God will hate you so much. You can read about Routines & Patterns.

A man of God once asked, “Did you obtain salvation from your good deeds? What makes you think that your bad deeds can make you lose your salvation?” Am I advocating for sin? No! What I am against is the notion that your actions in the flesh please God.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:24 NKJV

The Bible says that the Lord searches hearts.

I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:10 NKJV

We cannot please God in the flesh. That is why reading the Bible in a year will not add a single coin in your pocket. This is why you cannot see true prosperity no matter how much you read the word, pray and go to church. You can only see true wealth if you do it with true understanding.

People who pray every day, have read the Bible cover to cover and think that they serve God are mostly self-righteous. They believe that because they do that, they automatically win the favor of God forgetting that God doesn’t act like worldly systems that give you reward points when you have consistently and faithfully used their products or services.

Sadly, evangelizing to such people is hard because they think they know everything. This is because knowledge puffs up. Most of them have got no love and they really rebuke others for not doing things in the way they think is ‘right’ in their own eyes. The Bible says;

…We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

1 Corinthians 8:1 NKJV

They have become their own God and they see everyone through their own lens. They do not have the mind of God because they do not know Him because they do not truly seek Him. He remains another fairy tale to them. Ironically, the Lord would would always place them in a position where they seek help or provision from those they harshly criticize to show them that their wisdom is folly unto Him.

So how should you read the Bible? First, you need to change your posture. You need to change how you think of the Bible. You need to change your view of the Bible. Most people think that the Bible is simply a rule book, a constitution and because of this mentality, they always think that they are right and harshly judge others.

See the Bible as a way to the Holy one. It is not a study book. It is not an encyclopaedia, it is not some syllabus that you should complete at a specific time. It is not something that you should cram. If you cram it, it is remains to be just – scripture. The real essence of it all is to squeeze it, churn it so that it becomes word to you. That’s how it becomes life unto you.

God is not just interested that we read the Bible cover to cover, His major concern is that we walk in whatever we have read. That’s why the Bible says:

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

James 2:14 NKJV

This explains why so many children of God merely quote scriptures but what they quote doesn’t really manifest in their life. This is because that scripture has not become word to them. The word of God is living. The Bible doesn’t say the scriptures are living. It is by converting those scriptures to word through works that it becomes life to you.

For example. The Bible says, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” What is your conduct when you are in want? Do you panick? Do you think of other options like lending? When the Lord is your shepherd you shall not want, you simply do not lack. That scripture becomes word when indeed are in lack but focus on the Lord as your provision. That’s what we now call faith.

So how then do you pray? Most children of God are always binding the devil. Why do you factor in the devil in your prayers? Most children of God ask God for the same thing every single day. Is your God deaf? Most children of God think that God has to be reminded because His memory for some reason isn’t good.

It is not bad to ask. When you ask again, it simply means you haven’t believed that you have received. The Bible says ask and you shall receive. Most people go to God with the mentality of lack that’s why even after prayer, they don’t believe that ‘it is done’.

Because they do not know Him and think that they are dealing will a fellow compassionate and gracious man, they constantly ask with all forms of theatrics. They even remind Him how good they have been by not sinning, reading the Bible and how they have served Him in church. You need to approach prayer with a mentality of ‘it is already done.’

Finally, going to church on Sundays. But who said Sunday is the only day for Church? I am not saying that you do not go to church but you have to understand that Sunday is not the only day that you should meet God. God is there with you everyday and time. He is within you. You do not go to church on Sunday to call upon Him but to meet Him because:

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

Matthew 18:20 NKJV

Do you know that the Lord would also want you to rest? He rested right? He would want you to go for a holiday? Would you be so religious that as you enjoy your time there in the Bahamas you will start apologizing to God that you haven’t gone to church?

The Lord is not a dictator, He is so loving, caring and would want the best out of you. He would want to craft you into the best version of yourself. Allow Him to do so. Don’t try to craft yourself with mere prayer, bible study and self-righteousness. They all have got no effect in the spirit.

Welcome to our weekly fellowship where we dive deeper into these spiritual things. Come let’s experience the Lord together. Details are on the right of this article if you are reading on desktop or below this post if you are reading on mobile.