PrayerPower: Is The Bible the Word of God?

By Petey Prater

My only brother, Roy, was killed when we were both teenagers. A tire exploded in dad’s tire shop, causing Roy brain damage, death quickly followed.

It was a traumatic time for the whole family. Grief and questions overwhelmed me. Where did Roy go? Where would I go when I died? If God were real, how would I find Him? If the Bible was God’s Word, could it answer my questions?
I read the Bible grandma gave me, but I couldn’t understand it. I tried many churches in my tiny Nevada town; still no answers.

Finally, in nursing school, my friend Darlene shared these Scripture verses with me. “… if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” And, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9,13

Darlene said to me, “Petey, seeing an elevator and knowing it goes up isn’t enough to get you to the second floor. If you want to ride that elevator, you must get in.”

Ah, now I understood. Believing on God is not enough, I must believe in God. So I prayed to the Lord, “ Father God, I believe You sent Jesus, Your Son, to be my Savior. Forgive my sins, make me Your child, take me to Heaven when I die. I want to be in Your family. And please help me understand the Bible. Thank You, God. Amen.”

That prayer finally brought peace to my heart. Then as I read my Bible, I began to understand it. I discovered that the Bible is God’s love letter, written to those who have professed faith in Jesus. When we join God’s family through a confession of faith in Him, we begin to understand the language of the Scriptures.

But questions still confused me. How could I be sure the Bible was God’s Word? As I began to study, I discovered these facts:

· The Bible is the most purchased book in the world. It is a small library containing 66 books. These books were written over a period of 1600 years by 40 authors from many different backgrounds. Yet all Scriptures in these many books agree.
· God spoke His Word to holy men, qualifying and enabling them to make an infallible record of divine truth concerning His will for mankind.
· Scripture contains no contradictions and, over a period of hundreds of years, about 3300 verses of prophecy have been fulfilled. (Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, pg. 241 N T) Not one prophecy has failed, although some end-time prophecies have yet to be fullfilled.
· Scientifically and historically the Bible is accurate. It has been preserved through the ages to meet mankind’s needs – present and eternal. We can trust both its words and its ideas.

The Bible says, “All Scripture is God – breathed (Greek: theopneustos; God – inspired) and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16

I discovered God delights in answering my questions. God wants us to ask Him our questions so He can prove to us that the Scriptures really are His holy Word. As I seek the God of the Bible, He continues to convince me His Word is Truth.
Do we believe the Bible is the Word of God? Our belief determines behavior. Our belief and behavior determine our destiny.

Petey Prater writes from Beaverton, Oregon. peteyprater@yahoo.com