What does God’s Word taste like to you? That may seem like an odd question, but the theme of God’s Word as spiritual food is all over the Bible. Just like physical food, God’s Word gives us life and satisfaction. Jesus said we can’t live on bread alone but need the words of God (Matt. 4:4). Jeremiah said he ate God’s words and they brought joy and delight to his heart (Jer. 15:16). Isaiah described God’s Word as a feast, and David celebrated God’s words as sweeter than honey. What about you? Does Scripture taste sweet to you, or do the words turn sour in your mouth? Maybe you don’t feel hungry for God’s Word at all. If you long for the abundance and delight that God’s Word promises, but still feel dissatisfied, there is hope. Much like we develop our taste for certain foods, with God’s help, we can develop a taste for God’s Word. When You Don’t Have an Appetite for God’s Word Maybe your problem isn’t that you don’t enjoy Scripture but that you’re not consuming it at all. You don’t crave Scripture, and maybe you think you don’t need it. If you don’t have an appetite for God’s Word, start reading anyway. If you don’t have an appetite for God’s Word, start reading anyway. If you’re not hungry for God’s Word, it’s not because you don’t need it. Have you ever noticed that if you go long enough without eating, you stop feeling hungry? You may notice other signs you need food—low energy, a headache, irritability, feeling lightheaded—but it’s easy to forget that the symptoms are due to a lack of fuel when you don’t feel hungry. It isn’t until you take a bite that your stomach wakes and you realize just how hungry you are. If you take an honest look at your heart, you may see the side effects of spiritual malnourishment. Instead of a headache, you might find discontentment, impatience, or unkindness. If that’s you, take a bite! Start reading God’s Word even if you don’t feel like it, and ask God to awaken in you a hunger for his satisfying Word. When God’s Word Tastes Bland Maybe you read the Bible every once in a while, but it feels boring. Don’t stop if it doesn’t feel interesting. Keep reading. You may have heard that it takes 10–20 times of tasting a food you don’t like to develop a taste for it. Likewise, you won’t necessarily love the Bible the first time you open it. Commit to a consistent habit of Bible reading, even five minutes a day. The Bible gets more exciting over time as you begin to recognize the overarching story it tells and how every book points to Christ. When God’s Word Feels like a Bitter Pill Scripture doesn’t always go down easy. It convicts us, challenges us, and calls us to turn from things we don’t want to give up. When reading God’s Word feels like choking down a horse pill, meditate on God’s character. As you read the Bible, ask yourself, What does this text show me about who God is? The difficult commands are easier to swallow when you receive them in the context of a relationship with a God who loves you and desires your good. When God’s Word Tastes Sour When you’re experiencing doubt, suffering, or disappointment, approaching God through his Word can be hard. Verses about trusting the Lord or rejoicing in all circumstances can taste sour. The temptation is to stop reading all together, but don’t close your Bible or your heart. God invites us to pour out our hearts to him because he is a refuge for us (Ps. 62:8). So tell him how you’re hurting and questioning. Be honest about your anger and disappointment. He is a safe place. In these seasons, the psalms are a great place to land. In them, we find words for our feelings and examples of laying our hearts bare before the Lord. When God’s Word Leaves You Hungry Do you ever walk away from God’s Word feeling empty? You read the words, but they don’t make it into your heart, and you quickly forget them as you go about your day. God’s Word can leave us dissatisfied when we quickly gulp it down without really tasting it. Meditating on God’s Word allows us to chew on it, to savor it, and to open our hearts to its satisfying power. And don’t stop there; pray God’s Word and pray in response to God’s Word. Scripture isn’t a collection of dry words on a page; it’s God’s Word spoken for us. So join the conversation by speaking back to him in prayer. When God’s Word Tastes Sweet By God’s grace, there will be times when Scripture tastes sweeter than honey in your mouth and you delight in God through his Word. When that happens, praise the Lord! Keep reading, keep studying, and keep seeking to know him even more. Scripture isn’t a collection of dry words on a page; it’s God’s Word spoken for us. But don’t keep it to yourself; share it with others. Invite someone to read Scripture with you—perhaps someone struggling to delight in it—and help her “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8). No matter what Scripture tastes like to you, one of the most important things you can do is pray that God would satisfy you in it. You’re invited to the feast of Scripture, so listen diligently and delight yourself in the rich food of his Word (Isa. 55:2).

Let’s be honest. Evangelism is a scary word for many of us. Although I regularly share the gospel, my heart pounds in my chest every time I do it. I’ll never forget an evening years ago when a coworker called me at home to ask about my decision-making philosophy. It was an odd situation since she and I had no real relationship outside our work as engineers. When she asked such a poignant and personal question, I knew I was at a crossroads. Would I bypass the awkwardness by recommending a self-help book, or would I come clean about my relationship with Jesus? What would she—a fellow MIT graduate—think if I told her that the Bible is my source of knowledge and wisdom? How could I face her at work after admitting my reliance on prayer? What if she wrongly concluded I was a “science denier”? We often make these kinds of mental calculations when given an evangelistic opportunity. Far too often, fear gets the best of us and we walk away. It’s normal to feel timid when sharing the gospel. We’re telling people the most important news they’ll ever hear, and we want to get it right. Furthermore, we want them to believe it. Much of our fear, however, is rooted in self-preservation. We fear rejection. And rightly so. Jesus was rejected by some of his own disciples when he claimed to be the only way to eternal life (John 6:57–66), and he warned that we’d face similar treatment for his name (15:18–21). The gospel is an offense (Gal. 5:11), and sometimes we’re not sure we can handle an unbeliever’s negative response to it. Three Ways to Overcome Fear of Evangelism We know people need Christ, but we fear the awkwardness that gospel conversations can create. How can we move past our fear? 1. Change your expectations. For many years, I was reluctant to share my faith because I assumed evangelism was only successful when it resulted in an immediate profession of faith. I blurred the lines between God’s work and mine, not realizing that God is glorified in every gospel proclamation—whether or not the hearer responds with belief. Much of our fear is rooted in self-preservation. We place tremendous pressure on ourselves when we expect an on-the-spot conversion every time we share the gospel. But when we realize that people often hear the gospel multiple times before believing it, we can have more realistic expectations. We can go into gospel conversations hopeful for what the Lord might do but aware that the person may not be ready to believe. We need not fear that a lacking response means we’ve failed in our task. Paul addressed this when writing to the Corinthian church. He “planted” the seeds of the gospel; Apollos came after him and “watered” those seeds, possibly with another gospel presentation; but “God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6). Our responsibility is simply to tell others what Christ has done and give them an opportunity to respond. We leave the rest to the Lord. 2. Get to know and love nonbelievers. I once asked a group of moms why they think it’s so much easier to share the gospel with their adult children than with adult strangers. The answer is perhaps obvious but convicting: Moms love their kids far more than they love strangers. Their desire for their children’s salvation overcomes fear and justifies the relational risk involved. So one way we can overcome fear of evangelism is to grow in love for people who don’t know the Lord. We can spend time developing relationships with nonbelievers, and as we do, our desire to see them converted will naturally grow. 3. Meditate on the doctrine of hell. Another powerful way to defeat the fear of evangelism is to meditate on the doctrine of hell. Do we really believe that hell is a place of constant torment where lost people will spend eternity (Matt. 13:41–42; Mark 9:43; Rev. 14:11)? Do we fully grasp that there will be no second chances after we die (Heb. 9:27)? The last thing we want to do is meditate on something so dreadful, but the gospel is so sweet because hell is so real. Meditating on the doctrine of hell makes us less afraid of what will happen to us when we share the gospel and more afraid of what will happen to those who never hear or believe it. God’s Mission My heart still skips a beat whenever I share the gospel. It’s a weighty thing to tell another sinner about the saving grace God offers through his Son Jesus Christ. But I’m encouraged to get past my fears when I remember there are countless other ways God could accomplish his work of turning hearts to himself. The gospel is so sweet because hell is so real. Knowing that God allows us to be a part of his mission should motivate us to think rightly about evangelism, to pursue relationships with lost people, and to meditate on doctrines that remind us of eternity’s nearness. As we press on in faithfulness to spread the good news, let’s cling to God, remembering that he goes before us, he will be with us, and he will save his people.

This prayer will remind you that you are God's unique masterpiece, created for specific good works. Embrace your worth and individuality as you learn to trust your divine purpose and feel cherished, just as you are.

This prayer will remind you that you are God's unique masterpiece, created for specific good works. Embrace your worth and individuality as you learn to trust your divine purpose and feel cherished, just as you are.

At the end of every day, there’s nothing better we can do but to bring all we’ve carried through the day straight to Him. Praying before we go to bed helps us lay down our worries and cares. Maybe many times, we’re so weary or busy, we forget to even give God thanks for the way He’s been faithfully at work in our lives and in those we love. Or often we may find that it’s hard to fully let go of our burdens, so we carry the worries and stress straight to bed with us. We hold on to the wounds and hurt feelings. We wrestle for sleep but can’t seem to turn off the spinning thoughts of to-do lists, schedules, and what we still need to get done for tomorrow. God's very presence and the truth of His word are the only things that can bring deep peace to our souls. The peace He gives is the kind of peace the world can't offer, the kind of peace that doesn't make sense even to our own minds. May He remind you right now that you are never alone, that He knows your way, and He has a plan. He’s right there with you, both now and in all your tomorrows too. Come to Him with your troubles. May God lift all burdens of anxiety from your shoulders. Where you've been filled with doubt, may He replace it with faith. Where you've been filled with racing thoughts, may He replace it with calm. Whatever's pressing on our minds and hearts tonight, may God give us the strength to lay it down, and fill us with His peace. We can rest assured, knowing, believing He holds it all in His hands. Here are 10 prayers you can pray before going to bed: Photo Credit: Getty Images