Can you receive answers from God reading the Bible at random?

Although there are not so many, there are a number of people who want to receive a response from God by reading the Bible when they open it at random. Such cases and people are the subject of the following question which I will answer today:

Is it biblical reading the Bible at random, that is, opening up anywhere in the Bible meaning that God is speaking to me today?

No, my dear ones, the Bible is not a guessing book or a superstitious book. In the Bible is written all the will of God that every man must know and then live in his life. The situations of life are different and we are responsible for recognizing the will of God and making choices according to this will. That is why it is written in the Epistle to the Romans as follows:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)(NASB)

Conforming to this world is made at the level of thinking when we let ourselves be influenced by the unbelieving people around us, by the media, by what people call culture, fashion, etc. We, the believers, are responsible for transforming ourselves by the renewing of our mind, and this is a continuous process that can only be accomplished through the profound study of the Holy Scriptures. When we know all God’s plan as it is presented in the Bible, then we will have a new mind, and with this new mind we will be able to distinguish the good will of God that is good, pleasant and perfect, and know how to act in each life situation. This verse clearly shows that we have the responsibility to distinguish the will of God and act accordingly. The one who opens the Bible at random and wants to know the will of God wants to be exempt from the responsibility of deeply studying the Scriptures.

Let me give you an illustration… What would you think of a man who has stomach pain enters the pharmacy and buys the first medicine he sees without wondering for what disease is that medicine. He says, “All the drugs are good and they are for healing…” So it is, but every drug is made to cure specific diseases and meet specific needs. And if you do not apply them carefully, the exact drugs that were meant to do you good will hurt you.

Let me give you another example. Let’s say that somebody sinned, and the sin was revealed. In his desperation he decides to know the will of God by opening the Bible at random and when he puts his plan to work, the Bible opens precisely to the place that says:

 And he (Judas) threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:5)(NASB)

Now what do you think he will do? Yes – he can go to commit suicide! Is that what God teaches us in the Bible that a man has to do when he has sinned? If he were one who knew the plan of God, he would seek the places in Scripture that teach him how to proceed and solve the problem of his sin, and no doubt he would read again and then implement the text that says:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)(NASB)

I know a case when a father of three children, who didn’t know the Bible very well, and Satan took advantage of it making him to commit suicide, after he read the following verse from the Bible:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1)(NASB)

The devil will seek to take advantage of a shallow knowledge of the Bible to make you sin and even destroy you if it is possible. Understand this and do not play with faith. I am deeply saddened to see that a very large number of evangelical Christians, who say they are born again and who have been baptized by faith, have not yet read the Bible entirely. How can I call you disciples of Jesus Christ when you have not even read once what God says in His Word? You are not true disciples of Jesus Christ, for He said:

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (John 8:31-32)(NASB)

Those who continue in the Word of Jesus Christ study the Bible deeply and continuously, but those who are professed Christians have not even read this book once and try to know the will of God as pagans through divination and superstition. No, dear ones, the Bible is not a talisman or an object to guess. It is the Word of God that must be continually studied, deeply known and applied every day according to the concrete situations of life. So help us God.

Translated by Elizaveta Bîrlădeanu