Making time for Bible reading and prayer as personal daily worship is essential to the Christian life. Much of the Christian life is corporate in nature, however, the Christian life is also personal. For this reason many believers include the use of a guide in Bible reading and prayer. Whether it is a Bible reading plan, prayer guide, or devotional book such resources can be useful. Two resources recently published by The Good Book Company are two resources that can aid personal worship.
The first resource is a devotional book by pastor Alistair Begg titled Truth For Life: 365 Daily Devotions Volume Two (2022). Many devotional books tend to be inspirational in nature and not very biblically rich. Truth For Life is not one of these devotionals. For decades Pastor Begg has been known for biblically faithful preaching and its practical application for the Christian life. Truth For Life is specifically designed to encourage the reader to grow deep in God’s word and apply it practically to their daily lives. This is accomplished in three ways. First, each devotion consists of biblically rich material based around the text selected for each day. Second, the book provides practical application through a feature found at the end of each devotion consisting of three questions. These questions point the reader to practical application of the biblical text in one’s head, heart, and hands. Third, the book provides daily Bible reading plan that encourages deeper study in God’s word.
The second resource is a book of prayers by Tim Chester titled Into His Presence: Praying with the Puritans (2022). In our busy world, it is likely that prayer is the most difficult aspect of the Christian life. Most people probably think that they are too busy to stop and pray. Yet we cannot afford not to pray. Along with Bible reading, it is our lifeline for knowing our heavenly Father in personal relationship. It is for this reason that Jesus gave a model prayer to his disciples (see Matthew 6 and Luke 11). In Into His Presence Chester provides a treasury of several dozen Puritan prayers specifically curated with updated language for modern believers. The book can be used as a companion to personal worship by praying one of the prayers each day. It can also be used a prayer reference by turning to one of the prayers in a given topic during a specific season. The prayers can be used for both individual or corporate use. Into His Presence is truly a new version of The Valley of Vision for a new generation not familiar with the wealth found in the Puritans.
Bible reading and prayer are crucial to spiritual growth. Yet many believers today struggle to find the time for both. Both of these resources would be excellent for use in your personal worship in 2023. Truth For Life is a more holistic approach to Bible reading and study. Coupled with Into His Presence they could help one to grow deeper in God’s word. The Good Book company is to be commended for being dedicated to publishing resources that encourage going deep in prayer and the word.
Editor’s Note: These resources were provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Zach Kendrick is the editor of Reading For The Glory.
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