The Living Word

a devotional by Nathan Deck

As Christians we should always be growing and learning more and more about our Lord and Savior. But sometimes we find ourselves in a stagnant place where we do not feel like what we are reading in the Bible translates to us and our daily lives. This is so far from the truth, but something we may find ourselves dealing with.

The Bible is the Word of God, and it is living and active. This alone is something we should always remember when we spend time in the Word. But, keeping that in mind, there are some questions that you can ask as you read that can help you truly sit and dwell on what you are reading. Whether it is poetry, history, or a letter to a church in the New Testament, God can use it to speak directly into your life.

There are five things that we can do when we read the Word of God that will help us to truly see what God is trying to show us.

First, we must pray over it. Psalm 119:12 says "Blessed are You Lord, Teach me Your Statutes." If we pray and our heart is to meet with God, He will meet us! He will open our eyes and He will stir our hearts as we read. 

Second, we must ponder and dwell on what we read. Psalm 119:15 says "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways." This is so important, because if we just pick up our Bibles, read a few passages, and then put it down and don't dwell on it, we can easily fall into a process of just reading to read, and thats when we come to a place of dryness. 

Thirdly, we must preserve it. We must memorize it, so that we have it in our mind and in our hearts for times of temptation or just time of decisions. If we have it in our hearts, then it is living in us and with us.

Fourthly, we must practice it. We have all been in school, and most of us don't remember a single math equation that we did years and years ago when we were in high school, and that is because we knew it when we were practicing it, but now that we aren't, that knowledge is gone. This is the same with Scripture. If we just read and thats it, we are going to completely forget what we read in the years to follow.

Lastly, we must proclaim it! This is probably one of the hardest parts, but it is one of the most edifying. When we are with our friends we ought to share what we are reading. This will only help us to grow more and more and then we could expand our proclamations to those who don't know the Lord through evangelism.

I myself need to do a better job of applying this to my life, but we must remember that this is something that can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and our lives. Never forget that!