Are You Listening?
One of the happiest memories of my childhood is that of my mother reading Bible stories to me at bedtime. Many of them made a great impression on me, especially the incident in the life of Samuel described in 1 Samuel 3. I can still hear my mother reciting the young boy's response to the call of God: "Speak, for Your servant hears" (v.10).
Dry Spells
We may be able to relate to what the author of Psalm 119 had to say about the joy of reading and meditating on God's Word. But most of us have also experienced dry spells—times when we don't seem to get much from the Bible.
Profitable Reading
Bible scholar William Barclay recalls the experience of a group of British soldiers during World War I. For a long time the men were in a relatively quiet standoff with the enemy. Among them was an atheist who, trying to fill up the empty days, went to the chaplain to ask if any books were available. The only book the chaplain had was the Bible.
