Did you know you can read the right book at the wrong time?

The thought never occurred to me to pray about what to read, until about twelve years ago. I was staying for a few days in the home of a mentor. She didn’t change her routine just because I was there. We experienced life as she normally lived it. This was helpful for me to get a feel for her life rhythm and pattern and see if there were things that would be beneficial for me to incorporate into my life. In the mornings we would come out on her screened in porch in our pajamas with coffee, and read our Bibles for a while. After Bible reading we would read from a few other books. We did this, sitting in the quiet for an hour or two. I wondered why she chose the particular books she did. When I asked her, she said, “Deanna, as you know, one only has so much time to read. And books are so important to our growth. I’ve always wanted to make sure I’m reading the right things at the right time and so I pray, ‘Lord, lead me to the books you have for me in this time, in this season…’ and He is always faithful to do that.”

I made a note to start doing that. Before this, I read most anything I heard about — or books that other people specifically asked me to read. Doing things this way required a change. When someone asks me to read a book, or in particular their book — I don’t always do it. It’s hard to say no to requests and I know it probably hurts some people’s feelings. But, at times I feel like I need to. Sometimes I just know that in the season I’m in, it’s not the book for me.

When the mentor shared with me about praying about her book selections, I also had this thought… although the Bible is entirely truth and profitable for all things, perhaps it is wisdom to pray about where in the Bible God wants us to read at any given time. The whole Bible is anointed, but what does God have for ME today?  Depending on what I am going through, it may be more profitable to my walk to read Colossians today than Leviticus.So today I pray, “God put into my hands, what you want me to read this day…” Even when it comes to Your very word, direct my path.