Hiding God's Word in Your Heart

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11 (KJV) If prayer is the breath of the Christian woman, the word of God is her daily food. Our Lord Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. You would not consider going without food for days at a time — you would grow weak and ill. And yet how many Christian women go day after day, week after week, without reading, hearing, or meditating on the scriptures? Is it any wonder that we feel spiritually weak, confused, and tossed about by every trouble?

The Bible is not an ordinary book. It was written over a period of about fifteen hundred years by more than forty different human authors, in three languages, on three continents. And yet it has one great message and one great Author — the Holy Spirit of God. Every word of it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. When you read the Bible, you are hearing the very voice of God speaking to you.

For thousands of years, most believers could not read the scriptures for themselves. They were copied by hand, and a single copy of the Bible could cost more than a family earned in a year.

When the printing press was invented in Europe in the 1400s, and when the Bible began to be translated into common languages, it changed the world. And now, here in East Africa, we have the Bible in many of our own languages — Luganda, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Runyankole, Luo, and many more. What a gift this is. Do not take it for granted. There are women in other parts of the world today who walk for hours to find a single copy of the scriptures.

The Bible tells us of women who loved the word of God. Mary, the mother of Jesus, when she heard the message of the angel Gabriel, responded with a song that we now call the Magnificat. If you read it carefully, you will see that almost every line is a quotation or a reference to the Old Testament scriptures. Mary was a young woman, perhaps only fifteen or sixteen years old, and she knew her Bible so well that when she was filled with the Holy Spirit, the word of God flowed out of her as praise. Scripture tells us that Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

She was a woman who meditated on God's word.

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to his young helper Timothy and reminded him of the faith that dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and in his mother Eunice. He said that from a child Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make one wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Who taught Timothy the scriptures as a child? His mother and his grandmother. They did not wait for him to grow up. They did not say, "When he is older, we will send him to Bible school." They started teaching him when he was a small boy. And the result was that Timothy became one of the great pastors of the early Church and a beloved companion of the apostle Paul.

In the book of Acts, chapter seventeen, the apostles came to a place called Berea. The Bereans were called more noble than those of Thessalonica because they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily to see whether the things Paul preached were so. Notice — they did not just accept what Paul said because he was an apostle. They checked it against the Bible. This is a good example for us. We live in a time when many voices are teaching things that sound good but are not true to the word of God. The safest thing you can do is to know your Bible so well that when a false teacher speaks, you can say in your heart, "That does not match what the scriptures teach."

Now let me speak practically. How do you become a woman of the Word? Let me give you six simple habits.

First, read the Bible daily. Start with ten or fifteen minutes a day. Read through a book of the Bible from beginning to end. The Gospel of Mark is a good place to start because it is short and full of action. Then read John for its depth. Read Genesis to understand the beginning. Read Psalms for prayer and praise. Read Proverbs — one chapter a day, matching the day of the month — for wisdom for daily life.

Second, memorize scripture. Start with one verse a week. Write it on a small paper and carry it in your pocket. Read it when you are cooking, when you are walking, when you are resting. By the end of a year you will have fifty-two verses hidden in your heart.

Psalm 119:11 says, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

Memorized scripture is a weapon against temptation. When the enemy whispers in your ear, you can strike him down with the sword of the Spirit.

Third, meditate on what you read. To meditate means to think deeply, to chew on, to turn the verse over and over in your mind. Ask questions of the text. What does this tell me about God? What does this tell me about myself? Is there a promise to claim? Is there a command to obey? Is there a sin to avoid? Is there an example to follow?

Fourth, study the Bible with other women. Gather together — perhaps a few of you in your church or neighborhood — and read through a book of the Bible. Discuss what you have learned. Pray together. This kind of fellowship strengthens everyone.

Fifth, sit under good teaching. Attend a Bible-believing church where the scriptures are preached faithfully. Listen carefully to the sermons. Take notes if you can read and write. If there are sound radio programs or recordings from trusted preachers in your area, use them wisely.

Sixth, teach others what you learn. There is no better way to understand the Bible than to teach it to someone else, even a child. When you explain a verse to your son or daughter, you will often find that God teaches you even more deeply than before.

Let me close this chapter with some verses that every Christian woman should know by heart.

Write them down. Learn them this year. John 3:16. Romans 8:28. Psalm 23. Proverbs 3:5 and 6.

Proverbs 31:30. Isaiah 41:10. Philippians 4:6 and 7. Philippians 4:13. Second Timothy 3:16 and 17. Galatians 5:22 and 23. The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 and 20. These will be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path all the days of your life.

A Prayer Father in heaven, I thank You that You have given us Your holy Word. Forgive me for the times I have neglected it. Give me a hunger for the scriptures, a hunger greater than my hunger for food. Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things out of Your law. Hide Your word deep in my heart, that I may not sin against You.

Make me a woman who loves Your Word, who lives by Your Word, and who teaches Your Word to the next generation. In Jesus' name, Amen.