You Cannot Understand What God Is Saying In The Bible If You Do Not Meditate On God’s Word
Hearing God’s voice is the most important part of your prayer & fellowship time with God. Understanding what God is saying to you is difficult if you do not know how to properly read and interpret the Bible. It is essential to learn to read God’s word, then observe as much as you can while you read His word. Then you need to meditate on God’s word before you try to interpret what God is saying.
Having a daily devotion time to read God’s word the Bible and meditate on God’s word is vital to your walk and intimacy with God. You cannot have intimate fellowship with God and become one with God and a partner with God in His Kingdom work if you do not reverently listen to Him.
In John 10:4 & 27 Jesus tells us that His “sheep” or true followers know His (the Good Shepherd) voice and they follow Him. You cannot truly know and follow Jesus unless you can hear His voice, and unless He reveals Himself and His ways and His will to you. You simply cannot hear God’s voice If you do not read the Bible and meditate on God’s word.
LET GOD SPEAK FIRST IN YOUR PRAYER TIME
If you read and meditate on God’s word early in your prayer/devotion/quiet time with God, you allow Him to speak to you first and have first place in your quiet time with Him. Since hearing God’s voice is the most important time in our fellowship time with God, we need to read and meditate on God’s word early on.
Our heart attitude needs to be “Speak Lord for you servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9-10). The Biblical word for listen means to “reverently listen to God, with the intent of doing or following whatever you hear – even before you hear it”. Is this your heart attitude ?
Meditating on God’s word leads you from reading God’s word to understanding what God is saying, and then to being careful to do or apply what God says in your life. Then you will have the blessed life that God wants you to have, and you will be a blessing to others.
Here are some practical tips and some wisdom from the Bible to help you to meditate on God’s word so that you can read and interpret His word and better understand what God is saying to you.
DON’T JUST QUICKLY READ GOD’S WORD… EXAMINE IT THOROUGHLY AND REFLECT ON WHAT GOD IS SAYING TO YOU
“Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all of this.” – 2 Timothy 2:7
“Now the Bereans were of more noble (honorable) character than the Thessalonians, for they
received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” – Acts 17:11
When you read and meditate on God’s word, reflect on and ask the following questions:
“GOD, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY TO ME ?” (1 Samuel 3:10)
– Is there sin to avoid ?
– Does what I am reading include a promise to claim ?
– Is there a command to obey ?
– Is there a blessing to receive and enjoy ?
– Does what I am reading have an example to follow ?
– Is there something new to learn about God and His character ?
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GOD USES PEOPLE, CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WHAT YOU SENSE IN YOUR PRAYER TIME
WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO DISCERN GOD’S WILL AND CALLING ON YOUR LIFE: MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD AND THINK ABOUT HOW GOD IS USING YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES OR OTHER PEOPLE TO CONFIRM WHAT HE IS SAYING TO YOU IN HIS WORD. ALSO REFLECT ON WHAT YOU ARE SENSING DURING YOUR PRAYER TIME… DOES IT MATCH UP WITH WHAT GOD IS SAYING THROUGH HIS WORD ?
Ask the question: “How does what I am sensing in my prayer time, or what I see in my circumstances, or what other Godly people are telling me confirm what God is saying when I read and meditate on God’s word ?
WHEN YOU READ AND MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD, THINK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN APPLY IN YOUR LIFE WHAT GOD IS SAYING
“How can I do this / apply this / follow this in my life ?
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says… But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in all he does.” – James 1:22,25
MEMORIZE GOD’S WORD & TREASURE IT & KEEP IT IN YOUR HEART. WHEN GOD IS YOUR FIRST LOVE AND YOUR TREAUSRE, YOU WILL REGARD GOD’S WORD AS A GREAT TREASURE
“I have hidden (treasured) your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119:11
KEEP A SPIRITUAL JOURNAL AND WRITE DOWN THE VERSES AND WHAT GOD SAYS TO YOU OR TELLS YOU TO DO
This will help you to keep track of and remember what God is saying to you and how He is leading you.
CLOSE YOUR EYES & MEDITATE ON GOD AND ON HIS WORD
Practice: read and meditate on God’s word: Psalm 111:2-4 “Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
Practice: read and meditate on Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”
- meditate on this verse and try to picture what it looks like for God to hold all of the water of the earth in the hollow (palm) of His hand. Try to picture what it looks like when God was measuring the heavens or universe with the span or breadth of his hand (A span is the distance measured by a hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger).
Practice: read and meditate on Isaiah 49:15-16 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
There are so many great verses and truths to read and meditate on God’s word. You will be uplifted and strengthened once you get in the daily habit of reading and meditating on God’s word. It is well worth the time that it takes to meditate on God’s word.
WHEN GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS WORD, LISTEN TO HIM & OBEY
Psalm 1:2-3 “but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prospers.”
Deuteronomy 5:32-33 “So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”
Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS SAYING
Meditating on God’s word leads you from reading God’s word to understanding what God is saying, and then to being careful to do or apply what God says in your life. Then you will have the blessed life that God wants you to have, and you will be a blessing to others.
Learning to hear God’s voice by reading and meditating on God’s word, and by seeing how God is leading you and confirming it through others &/or circumstances &/or what you sense in your prayer time will change your life. You will have a much deeper intimacy with God, and by doing what you hear God telling you to do you will experience Him and know Him in real and personal ways.
Pursuing Intimacy With God
Pursuing Intimacy With God is committed to helping you with the most important thing in your life… your intimacy with God , your fellowship with Him, and your partnership with God in His Kingdom work & mission.
There are hundreds of Bible verses and great truths & promises in the Pursuing Intimacy With God studies book
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Salvation: The Requirements for True Salvation
OTHER LINKS
Preview the Pursuing Intimacy With God Studies Book
Jesus Christ Is The Source of Abundant Life
Can You Personally Know God – Part 2
Hearing God’s Voice – Vital for Intimacy With God
Hinderances To Hearing God’s Voice
You Can Learn to Hear God’s Voice
What Is Prayer ? God’s Purpose For Prayer
The Desires of God’s Heart – Part 2
The Greatest Desire of God’s Heart
