This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. – Joshua 1:8, KJV

Collegiate basketball coach Bobby Knight is one of those guys you either love or hate. No doubt, he has had a controversial career, but intermixed with the controversy have been many moments of success. 

One of Knight’s most famous quotes is this:

The key is not the will to win… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.

Very succinctly, Knight has articulated a tremendous truth: preparation (practice) is one of the most important drivers of success. Sadly, most Christians drop the ball here, leading lives that fall far short of God’s best because they only half-heartedly prepare to win. For example, a LifeWay Research study conducted in 2012 surveyed 2,900 church goers. The researchers found that while 90 percent “desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do,” only 19 percent personally read the Bible every day. Yet, Satan’s attacks occur every day, and with the Sword of The Lord on the shelf, the average Christian is basically defenseless against the Enemy’s onslaught. 

When people are asked why they don’t spend more time in the Bible, the most common answer is, “I don’t have enough time.” The reality is, they don’t make enough time because they find Bible reading less important than other activities. Sure, there are days when the demands of life make it impossible to pick up the Bible, but those days, if we’ll be honest with ourselves, are few in number.  Most of the time, the demands of life aren’t the culprit; they are only the excuse. Our lack of the will to prepare is the culprit, and because of our deficiency, we allow life’s pressures to crowd out relationship-building with our Lord. 

Just like athletes who are willing to sacrifice all kinds of activities that interfere with their quest for victory, Christians who really want to live the victorious Christian life will sacrifice in order to spend the necessary time in God’s Word. It’s a matter of choice. It’s a matter of will. It’s a desire to prepare for today’s spiritual onslaught, and the only question that matters is, “How badly do you want to prepare to win?”