By Books

Daniel 9:² “During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.”

The first way to mould and stretch your brain, to exercise and sharpen your brain, and to access systems and processes that will baffle the world is The Books You Read. Daniel was able to activate a seventy-year-old prophecy by reading. The Kings James Version puts it this way, “…I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet…” (emphasis added). Just read! Listening is very powerful. Listening to audiobooks is also powerful. But listening is best done when there are no distractions.

For instance, attending church physically versus attending church online. When you are physically in church, listening to a sermon, it has the highest impact on you. But if you are attending a service online while you are cooking, your attention is divided. Before you know it, the person preaching has said two or three things that have flown over your head. Yes, you will gain a lot. but not as much as when your attention is undisturbed, and you are in a church setting. This is why physical church will always trump online church any day.

I came across these statistics years ago and it challenged me to my core. Most people admire CEOs, particularly of Fortune 500 companies. They say that their annual take home is millions of dollars. But did you know that on average, the CEO of a Fortune 500 company reads sixty books a year? How many books have you read this year? You know the number. The point is the mind that is not exercised cannot access certain things that heaven is releasing. Your mind needs to be exercised. If you are a leader and you are not reading, you are wrong. Again, hearing the Word is so powerful, it stretches your mind. You cannot read a book and cook or drive at the same time. You have to choose the one that will take your focus. And that is why reading is so powerful. Hearing is also powerful. Let me tell you what I do, maybe it will help.

When I buy a book, I always purchase the audiobook as well. What I do is while I am reading the physical book, I am listening to the audiobook simultaneously. I hardly ever read the physical book at 1x, that is the speed of reading. I mostly listen to the audiobook at 1.5x or 2x speed, so it forces me to read the physical book faster. So, I am able to read much more in a shorter time. You have to read because the books you read stretch your mind.

Prayer: Father, as I stretch my mind by reading books, open my understanding and grace me with deep insight, and solutions to world problems, in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen!