Dear Saints,
After realizing how awesome He is in every attribute, and how He alone is the greatest Deliverer, Comforter,Healer, Restorer, Provider and Builder for your very life, I would like to share what has helped me retain Gods Word and develop greater knowledge of the wisdom and power of His Word in some practical ways. The first thing we need to understand is that apart from God, we can accomplish nothing (John 15:5). Even though we don't often acknowledge Him in our daily tasks, He still very often and graciously gives us the ability to do every agenda we find ourselves doing. This should cause us to realize how gracious He is when He continues to be faithful to help us, even though we may often not acknowledge Him in every single detail in life. For every breath we breathe, it is because He sustains us by the power of His Word. Therefore, what we need to do first and foremost is to pray by asking Him to help you impart His Power, knowledge and wisdom of His Spirit to help you get the most of His Word and help Him to reveal a deeper revelation of what He is saying. For when we are humble (by acknowledging His help for us), He promises to give His Grace to the humble. It is when we simply ask Him (by acknowledging His help) for wisdom, He tells us that He liberally gives wisdom for those who ask ungrudgingly without any reproach or faultfinding (James 1:5 - Amplified Version). For He opposes the proud, all because they think they don't need His help, even in the most menial tasks...we still need His help whether we like to admit it or not. It is vital that we exercise true humility by acknowledging our full dependency on God if we expect to get the most out of His Word.
The next thing I find we need to do before you read His Word is to understand that what you are about to read can apply to each one of us in this present age. As a couple of examples: In 1 Samuel 17, there is a story of David and Goliath (which most people have heard of). But that is where most people stop because they only know this as a history lesson. However, there is a great deal of information from this story alone that we should get out of that will benefit us during our present lives. This story reveals that God can work through anyone (no matter how small or how young you are because David was only a young small lad of 12 years of age) who will stand up against our enemies (whether it be demonic forces or any negative circumstances you are facing). He was strong because he developed a confident spirit of what God could do for him in this circumstance. This is a lesson for us to understand to see how important for us to equally have our confidence in God in our present circumstances. When we understand this principle for ourselves, we will benefit from it much more than just reading this as an historic event. Another one out of an abundance of stories we read is Jonah. The lesson from Jonah and his disobedience to obey God, caused storms to rise within our circumstances and often causes negative circumstances to come upon others simply because of disobedience. This is what we need to understand is that when we disobey God, negative circumstances not only happens to ourselves, but often times includes others as you read about how the other men in the boat had to deal with the storm also, all because of one mans disobedience. Therefore, before we start to read, we need to understand that what we read about the others simply is not just a history lesson to know, but to ask God "How does this apply to me today and what can I learn from their experience?" When I read some of the scriptures that only talk about family history where a father begets a son... who begets a son....who begets a son and so on (Numbers 1), it may seem mundane or of no value. But to get something value out of this, it causes me to see how the Lord inspired the writers to write the lineage of ancestors with such detail of recorded history. This reveals to me how the Lord can also inspire us in ways as the men of old were inspired. Therefore, we need to have the mindset to understand that His Word, no matter where it may be in the Bible, is not only there as an historic event, but is relevant to help us live and benefit in our present life.
When we have read a short chapter, or perhaps part of a long chapter (ie: Psalm 119), it is good to go over in your mind and talk to yourself about what you read and try to put it in to your own words. I find thinking audibly in your mind over and over again is a very good way of gaining greater insight and retaining information about the greatest medicine for our souls of all time (Bible). As you take notes and write down (or type in) about what you have read, this is another great way to be able to retain the wisdom and knowledge of His Word. It is often when I am typing any messages on my computer, that the Lord reveals much greater insight and revelation when I am thinking and pondering about what I am typing in. Just after I read Ruth the other day, I am practicing these principles by making attempts to try to explain to myself of the events which took place and answer a question about how it was that Ruth found more favor with God then her Sister in Law, Orpah. It may seem funny, but if you would go in to a quiet room and speak about the events in the Bible you read to yourself, you will be amazed at how you will be able to use a simple principle to retain the power and knowledge of His Word in a greater dimension which is able to make you strong to abound in every good work (2 Cor 9:8). For the Lord tells us in Proverbs 14:6 that Knowledge comes easily to the discerning. Therefore, its not simply the intellect who are able to gain knowledge, but the knowledge and the power of His wisdom comes to those who will spend time to meditate over of what God is saying through His Word. I believe that is why David was a blessed man of God, because he often pondered His Word in his own heart (Psalm 119:11). That is why when you have children, or a group, it is good to talk about these different events that allows us to retain His Word when we hear ourselves speak. For we build up faith when we hear and hear the Word of God (Rom 10:17). When we come to understand the rich truth that His Word is the best medicine for our souls, why would we not want to take advantage to get the most of His Word in very practical ways that work? May the Lord richly bless you with the wisdom and knowledge He so much wants to impart.
Please feel free to visit my website below. God bless.
In the Matchless Name of Jesus
Richard
Associate Director
Answers2Prayer
http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife
http://www.answers2prayer.org/
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