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Written by Rachel Koenig
Watching world events has made the need for the Kingdom of God more real to me. More than ever I see the importance of listening to God through Bible study and living with urgency.
I was thinking today about the terrible tragedies that have occurred this year in the United States and in other countries, some caused by natural disasters, some caused by humans.
I was thinking of the prayer Christ gave as an example of how to pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10, King James Version). When I was younger, this had very little meaning to me. Life was stretched in front of me; 40 seemed old.
I am not yet 40, but it doesn’t seem old anymore. I have children now, and tragedy has touched my life in the loss of three grandparents and two brothers. I have seen close friends lose children, and I’ve seen the anguish and heartache in my mother’s face. She never quite looks me in the eyes anymore.
Living with urgency
What I have learned is that I need to live my life with the urgency that God’s Kingdom could come very soon. But it’s hard. I get distracted by the cares of this world, work, family squabbles, cleaning, cooking—you name it, I have let it get in the way.
So now I start my day with Bible study—every day without fail. For this is how God talks to us and guides us, through His Word written in the Holy Bible. By doing this, I find that my temper is better controlled (I am a redhead after all), and my job is easier to handle. It’s not easy to do the job I do in a Christian manner (I can’t wait to talk to Matthew and commiserate over the woes of being a tax collector!).
Most of us know that to start the day without breakfast is bad. You are starting your day on empty when you don’t eat breakfast. Well, I have learned that starting my day without spiritual food is worse. It is so easy for Satan to creep into our minds when we haven’t had a good spiritual breakfast.
My emphasis on Bible study is even helping me in my conversations with my husband. I am absolutely terrible with remembering where I read something in the Bible—I just know it’s in there. It’s wonderful now to be on the same page as my husband and say, “Hey, when I read this passage, this is what I got out of it. What did you get out of it?”
I know that Bible study isn’t all there is to it. I must also meditate, fast and pray. Praying is how we speak to God, while Bible study is how we listen.
Last week one of our very wise ladies at church brought out the importance of listening. Listening is a form of service. Well, I was thinking that I could take this a step further. We must listen to serve. In order to serve God in preaching the gospel and taking care of one another (the Church), we must first listen to God through Bible study.
Praying for the Kingdom
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
I now pray more urgently for God’s Kingdom to come, as I am watching the end time unfold before my eyes. This part of Christ’s example prayer makes a whole lot more sense to me now than 20 years ago when I first studied as I sought baptism.
Rachel Koenig is a member of the Buffalo, New York, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. She and her wonderful husband, Stephan, are raising three very active children, Anne, Madi and Joe.
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