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Secrets of the Kingdom Life  /  Chapter 14, Reading the Scriptures and Spiritual Classics  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 2
Matthew Henry’s line, “The Bible is a letter God has sent to us; prayer is a letter we send to Him,” assumes a certain relationship dynamic; how does that reshape the way you structure a devotional hour, and what would have to change if you really expected God to “speak first” through His Word?
Another way to ask: If the Bible is God’s letter to us and prayer is our letter to Him, how should that change your devotional time? What would you do differently if you expected God to speak first through His Word?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests a devotional hour should intentionally include time for Scripture so that God “speaks to us” before we do most of the talking. If we truly expected God to speak first, we would structure the time around reading (and responding to) the Bible rather than starting with long stretches of our own words.

Support from Transcript:

  • Matthew Henry’s analogy frames Scripture as God initiating communication: “The Bible is a letter God has sent to us.”
  • Prayer is our response: “prayer is a letter we send to Him.”
  • Bercot says, “we should set aside parts of our devotional hour for God to speak to us through His written Word.”
  • He distinguishes “devotional reading rather than exegetical Bible study” for this setting, implying a listening posture.
  • He calls devotional reading “interactive,” meaning Scripture-reading leads into prayer, confession, praise, and commitments.
  • He says we should close by praying about “new resolutions,” “sins we need to confess,” and “thanksgiving” that arise from the reading.
Discussion Follow-ups Do you tend to begin prayer with your needs and ideas, or with Scripture? What would change if you treated prayer mainly as response to what God has already said?

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