MORE DISCIPLINE, WILL!

Yesterday we looked at the Spiritual Disciplines of PRAYING, FASTING and GIVING. Today we’ll look at READING the Word of God, MEMORIZING the Word, and PRAYING the Word.

1. Reading the Word. After all the, WORD OF GOD IS: “…ALIVE and ACTIVE. Sharper than any double-edged sword, IT PENETRATES even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; IT JUDGES the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], EXPOSING AND SIFTING AND ANALYZING AND JUDGING THE VERY THOUGHTS AND PURPOSES OF THE HEART.” (Heb. 4:12 AMP) Paul said: “…FAITH COMES BY HEARING, and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD.” (Rom. 10:17) Paul also stated: “…THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the word of God:” (Eph. 6:17) We see just from these scriptures that God’s Word is: Alive, Powerful, sharp, penetrating, exposing, it brings faith and is our weapon (sword of the Spirit) against the enemy. All very good reasons to daily read and become familiar the Word.
2. Memorizing the Word, “Your word have I HIDDEN IN MY HEART, that I might not sin against YOU.” (Psa. 119:11). “I will MEDITATE (have a personal conversation) on your precepts, and HAVE RESPECT UNTO YOUR WAYS.” (Psa. 119:15). Memorizing God’s word will increase our faith (see Romans 10:17) and allow us instant access to the weapon of our warfare.
3. Praying the Word, Since this is God’s Word we are dealing with, what a powerful word to pray! There are many prayers of David, Paul and many others in the Word, already inspired and proven. I love to pray the Word of God! “EVERY WORD OF GOD is flawless; HE IS A SHIELD to those who take refuge in Him.” (Pro. 30:5) The Bible gives us the conversation material for our prayer lives. Prayer becomes easier and more enjoyable as we do this. We speak and pray God’s Truth back to Him. Did you know that God wants us to talk with Him as we read His Word?He loves it when we dialogue with Him over what we are reading. He wants us to actively talk with Him because we gain so much strength as we read His Word and engage in conversation with Him. It’s so simple but makes so much difference in our prayer lives.  When we pray the Word it“SETSONFIRE” the course of nature (James 3), God spoke the Word and as an example for us, ALL HE SPOKE came to pass!

READ, MEDITATE ON AND PRAY HIS WORD TODAY WILL!

-Bill Stockham