Footsteps in Prayer – Genesis

Have you ever read the whole bible, cover to cover? I tried as a teenager but never got very far through my King James authorised version with its archaic strange sounding language and various colour photos of the holy land. It was a gift on my Confirmation in 1967. Not long afterwards I stopped attending church and eventually stopped believing.

Those of you familiar with my blog will know that I did eventually find faith again as an adult. And I have engaged with the bible at a deep level, enjoying bible study and reading the bible in a more devotional way. I love preaching from it too.

In more recent years, now I am familiar with the overall story of the bible, I bought a guide that did it chronologically but found it too “bitty” with several short passages each day from different books so I gave up.

If a fairly new Christian asks me about reading the bible I always discourage reading it straight through from start to finish. Instead I encourage them to start with one of the gospels so they encounter Jesus. However I do admire those who do read it all and a couple of weeks ago I felt challenged to do so myself.

I was going to devise my own plan but then came across a website someone recommended and started using their plan. It’s a journey through the bible with selected passages from each of the books, taking them one or two books each week. It takes a year to work through. Click here for the website. The website has links to various resources, one of which is The Bible Project videos that provide an overview of each book of the bible. I recommend them.

I hope you find my sharing with you encourages you to read the whole bible – or at least explore those bits you are unfamiliar with. I am also sharing my journal entries to also encourage you to find a way of keeping a record of what speaks to you when you pray and read the bible.

I have a new sketch book to use as a journal and intend to make quick sketches/drawing and to write the main thing that comes to me through prayer. The selected passages are short – not the whole chapter. However I will endeavour to read the whole of each book of the bible.

Starting with Genesis, the first book of the bible, is good because it takes us right back to the beginning and the creation. The video overview comes in two parts: part one. Part two

The main message I took from reading Genesis was the importance of the Sabbath, and God’s faithfulness, his blessings, presence and provision.

During the week we went on holiday to the coast and started looking for a house to live in when I retire in three and a half years. On one walk on the beach whilst praying and thinking about our housing needs I noticed a shell and thought about hermit crabs who find an appropriate sized shell when it is needed. I had an assurance that God would provide us with the right sized house when needed. It was the only shell that shape and size I saw in the whole week, as was the crab shell I also found during that walk (apart from the dressed crab in shells on the market).