There is a book that is very special to me. When I read it, it inspires me and transports me to my favorite place. Reading it with my heart wide open fills my consciousness with the awareness of God and places me in the presence of the living Jesus Christ.
The Bible can overpower your doubt and release God’s wonder and awe within you. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
Sometimes, when I feel prompted to tell a group of people about the importance of the Bible, I’ll have it hidden close to me. Then I begin to talk and suddenly I start to shake, squirm, and stammer as I excitedly say, “It’s alive! It’s alive! My God, it’s alive!”
Then I quickly pull out the Bible, hold it up for all to see, and say: “It’s the Word of God and it’s alive!” People are a bit stunned, so I say, “The living words in this book can burn in your heart and make you aware of the presence of God.”
Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit “will remind you of everything I have said to you.” I’ve discovered that the Holy Spirit often reminds me of a Bible verse. There is a big difference between me trying to remember a Scripture (like trying to remember someone’s name) and God bringing a Bible verse to my mind.
When the Holy Spirit reminds me of a Scripture, I hear the miraculous. It goes beyond my human understanding and speaks directly and profoundly to my heart. That isn’t supposed to be something rare. It should be a common experience for a Christ-follower.
So how can you experience the Holy Spirit bringing a Bible verse to your remembrance? Well, first you have to have read or heard something from the Bible. (You can’t remember something you’ve never read, heard, or experienced.) The more you read the Bible the more of it the Holy Spirit can remind you about.
Next, ask God to remind you of a Bible verse. (“You have not because you ask not.” So, ask.) Then don’t try to use your mind to come up with a Scripture. Instead, simply quiet your mind and wait for one to appear. When a Scripture comes to you, refuse to analyze it with your brain. Rather let it touch your heart. Then you will notice that when an unanalyzed Bible verse is allowed to go deep into your heart it will have an amazing impact on you. Try it and see for yourself!
Asking the Holy Spirit to prompt you with Scriptures will revolutionize your life. Doubting the Spirit’s ability to do that (and only reading the Bible with your own understanding or with the analysis of a Bible commentary) will confuse you. Because we modern day Christians have been trained to merely read and analyze the Bible with our mind (or listen to a preacher’s analysis of it) and not to open up and surrender our heart to it, we tend to be “silent and not able to speak” from our heart about what Jesus has done and is doing within us and through us.
A closed heart closes the door on the power of Scripture and the Spirit’s ability to bring it to our remembrance. Then we can’t see the wonder that is staring at us when we read or hear the Bible speaking deep within us.
Perhaps it’s time to let God prophesy over you directly from His Word. Don’t dissect the Bible verses that come to your mind. Savor them! Obey them!
The Bible can overpower your doubt and release God’s wonder and awe within you. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
Sometimes, when I feel prompted to tell a group of people about the importance of the Bible, I’ll have it hidden close to me. Then I begin to talk and suddenly I start to shake, squirm, and stammer as I excitedly say, “It’s alive! It’s alive! My God, it’s alive!”
Then I quickly pull out the Bible, hold it up for all to see, and say: “It’s the Word of God and it’s alive!” People are a bit stunned, so I say, “The living words in this book can burn in your heart and make you aware of the presence of God.”
Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit “will remind you of everything I have said to you.” I’ve discovered that the Holy Spirit often reminds me of a Bible verse. There is a big difference between me trying to remember a Scripture (like trying to remember someone’s name) and God bringing a Bible verse to my mind.
When the Holy Spirit reminds me of a Scripture, I hear the miraculous. It goes beyond my human understanding and speaks directly and profoundly to my heart. That isn’t supposed to be something rare. It should be a common experience for a Christ-follower.
So how can you experience the Holy Spirit bringing a Bible verse to your remembrance? Well, first you have to have read or heard something from the Bible. (You can’t remember something you’ve never read, heard, or experienced.) The more you read the Bible the more of it the Holy Spirit can remind you about.
Next, ask God to remind you of a Bible verse. (“You have not because you ask not.” So, ask.) Then don’t try to use your mind to come up with a Scripture. Instead, simply quiet your mind and wait for one to appear. When a Scripture comes to you, refuse to analyze it with your brain. Rather let it touch your heart. Then you will notice that when an unanalyzed Bible verse is allowed to go deep into your heart it will have an amazing impact on you. Try it and see for yourself!
Asking the Holy Spirit to prompt you with Scriptures will revolutionize your life. Doubting the Spirit’s ability to do that (and only reading the Bible with your own understanding or with the analysis of a Bible commentary) will confuse you. Because we modern day Christians have been trained to merely read and analyze the Bible with our mind (or listen to a preacher’s analysis of it) and not to open up and surrender our heart to it, we tend to be “silent and not able to speak” from our heart about what Jesus has done and is doing within us and through us.
A closed heart closes the door on the power of Scripture and the Spirit’s ability to bring it to our remembrance. Then we can’t see the wonder that is staring at us when we read or hear the Bible speaking deep within us.
Perhaps it’s time to let God prophesy over you directly from His Word. Don’t dissect the Bible verses that come to your mind. Savor them! Obey them!
(I don’t believe that God intended for Christianity to become a non-prophet organization. He wants it to be the Spirit-led body of Christ where “you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.” See 1 Corinthians 14:31. True worship isn’t a “service,” a sermon, or a Bible study. It’s a human heart overflowing with honest sincere adoration of God. “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” See John 4:23.)
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