“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Shabbat Shalom to you. When you put God’s words into your heart you begin to rethink some of the things you do. You start asking yourself if what you are doing will offend God or displease Him. You become conscious of your actions toward Him and others. Storing His words in your heart makes it easier to do His will.
Here are three ways to get God’s words into your heart.
1. Meditate on the Word of God
This type of mediation is not the “clear your mind of everything” type. You don’t empty yourself or try to welcome any spirits into your life. None of these ways are what the scripture is talking about in Joshua when he is told to mediate on the word of God, day and night.
This Book of the Law (Torah) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
The Hebrew word for meditate is “Hagah.” It means to “utter, speak, imagine, recite.” You are to repeat the words out loud so you can hear it. Faith comes through hearing. The more you hear God’s word the more it becomes alive in you.
God tells you to do this day and night. His word should be the first thing on your mind and the last things on your mind. When you start doing this you’ll find His word on your mind throughout the day also.
2. Memorize the Word of God
The second way to store God’s words in your heart is by memorizing them. One technique is to write the verse over and over again. Pick a Bible version you like, choose your verse, and write it down on a piece of paper. Then write it again until you know the verse.
I don’t know about you, but I had to do this for school one day. I talked a lot in class and the teacher made me write 100 times “I will not talk in class.” I definitely remember that phrase! I also remember my hand hurting. To prevent this maybe the next technique would be better.
Another technique is to repeat the verse a few times before you attempt to do without looking at the card.
3. Make the Scripture Your Own
This is my favorite way of learning the scriptures. Make the scripture your own allows the Word of God to become personal for you. This works especially well when you are applying certain scriptures to help you get through something in your life.
For example, when I needed healing I looked up scriptures that spoke on healing and changed it a little to make it more personal.
Original scripture of Psalm 103:1-5
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (NKJV)
My version
I bless you Father God with all my soul; and all that is within me, I bless your holy name! I bless you with my soul and forget none of your benefits: It’s you who forgives me of all of my iniquities, who heals me of all of my diseases, who redeems my life from destruction, who crowns me with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Here is another example for praising God.
Original scripture of Psalm 103:6-8
6 The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. (NKJV)
My version
Father God, you execute righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. You made known your ways to Moses, your acts to the children of Israel. You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. (NKJV)
Here’s another example using Psalm 91: https://www.cswisdom.com/psalm-91-god-protects-me/
Use All Three Techniques Together
When I’m trying to learn new scripture I use all three techniques together.
- I start by making the scripture personal.
- Then I write it down on one side of the index card. I flip it over and write down the reference verse (i.e. Romans 4:7).
- I say the verse out loud few times. Then I imagine what this means to me. If I fully believe these words how does it make me feel? Do I feel safe, happy, confident, etc. I carry this feeling with me.
- I carry it with me throughout the day and read it out loud whenever I can with the feeling I felt earlier, while thinking about the words themselves and how I can apply it to my life.
I’ve learned a lot of scripture this way. The point is to make God’s word alive to you so you can trust Him to be the God that He is – Faithful and True.
Now it’s your turn to try it out. Take time out today to memorize just one verse this way and see how it feels to you. Then drop me a comment below telling me whether or not this helped you. Or if you know a better way to meditate on God’s word, share it with me.