I’ve received good in each part of the Christian world I’ve been in, want to acknowledge that despite differences we may have. In the Evangelical world, I received the great good of learning to read and pray the bible. Little did I know I was embarking on a long tradition of scripture reading, memorization and prayer going back to the time of the earliest Christians and desert hermits, spreading around the Christian world and enduring centuries of tumult up to my own day, when a bible and a reading plan were placed into my hands.

This post is second in a short occasional series. Pease click here to read the first.

If there is one outstandingly good thing I gained in the Evangelical world and have carried with me everywhere since, that I don’t think I would have gained nearly so well anywhere else (for reasons I will explain), it is the necessity of reading and praying the bible, cover to cover, again and again, over the course of your lifetime.

My first church, an Evangelical church (thankfully a very good one with solid leadership), had a 12-week class for new Christians in which we learned the basics of our faith. One of them was about the bible, the need to read and study it daily, cover to cover, and to memorize verses of scripture that speak to you so you can remember and repeat them to yourself throughout the day.