The Holy Bible is the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated total of 5 to 7 billion copies sold. In the twenty-first century, Bibles are printed at a rate of approximately 80 million per year.1 Multiple online platforms offer the Bible in numerous languages. Currently the entire Bible has been published in 736 languages, with the New Testament being translated into an additional 1,678 languages and smaller portions into 1,264 languages. Altogether, the Bible is now more accessible to more people than at any time in earth’s history.
Nevertheless, Christianity Today (CT) reported a sharp decline in the percentage of American Christians reading the Bible in 2021, with only 10 percent stating they read the Bible daily. Although the latest data regarding Bible reading practices among Seventh-day Adventists is from the 2018 Global Church Member Survey, statistics show an increase in daily Bible reading from 42 percent in 2013 to 48 percent in 2018. While these percentages are considerably higher than those reported among Christians in general, they reveal that less than half of Seventh-day Adventist members worldwide are reading God’s Word daily.
The theme for this Week of Prayer is “I Will Go and Share God’s Word.” In these readings you will be inspired as you consider what role the Bible has in the life of the church, bringing a message of joy and hope. The Bible is unique—it is a power for salvation, and nourishment for our lives. Most important, the Bible is a revelation of Jesus Christ. Rounding out the week is an important call to give the final proclamation of the gospel during these times of global turmoil. Surely Jesus is coming soon! May the Lord bless as together we “will go and share God’s Word” to a world in desperate need of Him.
Maranatha!
