When I was in junior high, my mom encouraged me to have a daily quiet time with the Father through Scripture reading and prayer. After practicing this habit (more or less!) for several years through high school, college, and my early married years, I came to a point where I really wanted to hear the still, small voice of God. I knew that I heard from the Father through the Scriptures, everyday events, and conversations with other people, but I really wanted to hear the voice of God audibly in some way. I believed that I just hadn’t allowed enough time and space to hear Him, so I started getting up really early in the morning, so I could just sit in complete silence and listen for a long time…but nothing. I experienced a deafening silence that profoundly discouraged me. On a subconscious level, I resigned myself to a distant relationship with God at best and felt a deep sense of rejection. I still believed in the Father, Son, and Spirit, and that they were good, but my lack of belief in the nature of His love was a barrier (and perhaps I hadn’t experienced His love in all the ways I needed for healing).

“I want to read the Bible, but I just can’t understand it.” “I want to read the Bible, but it’s just too boring.” “I want to read the Bible, but I just don’t seem to have the time.” Do these sound familiar to you? Let me tell you a story that might help you in this struggle. 

When I was in fourth grade, my Dad and Mom bought me a comic book Bible called The Picture Bible. I loved that thing! It told the whole story of scripture and because it was in comic book form, I could understand it and it was really interesting.