How to Get the Bible Inside You

If you had fed your body the way you fed your spirit in the last 12 months, would you be here today? Some of us don’t fast physically but we fast spiritually. If you’ve been desiring for your spirit man to grow, one of the keys is learning to harbor the Word of God within you. Here are a few tips.

1. Read It

But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him.

Matthew 12:3

When we read this verse, we see that Jesus expected people to read the Bible.

In the average American household, 87% say they have a Bible but only 11% actually read the Bible. And 30% of people surveyed in the United States have read no more than several passages or stories. 

Many people will often not read their Bible because they say they don’t understand the Bible. I don’t find this to be a good excuse because nowadays we have many different translations that break down the Word of God for people of all ages.

If that’s an excuse you battle with, find a translation that you like.

• Paraphrase Translations: The Living Bible, The Message Bible, The Passion Translation.
• Thought for Thought Translations: New Living Translation and New International Version.
• Deeper Study Bibles: New King James Version, ESV, and other translations.

Your goal is not to be a scholar but to be a disciple. Our desire is to understand what it says.

This is where you get the desire, not at the altar. Open the Bible, start reading it, and then the desire for it comes. Don’t wait for the desire. Choose to read the Bible and the desire will come. Similarly, the desire to pray will come from praying.

2. Listen To The Bible

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Romans 10:17

If faith comes by hearing, I wonder what else can come through hearing?

Hate comes from hearing because we listen to gossip. Fear comes from hearing because we listen to negative news. So, not only should we read the Scriptures, but we should also listen to the Scriptures. Biblical authors actually wrote the Scriptures with the intent of them being heard, not read. In the Old Testament, the law was supposed to be read in front of the people. In Apostle Paul’s epistles, he says to read it to the church and to other churches. If you are only reading the Bible and not listening to it, you are missing a component of how it can get into your life. 

Today, we focus more on feeling better than being better. But it’s important to note that just because you feel better doesn’t mean that you are going to be any better. Many people listen to worldly, filthy songs full of curse words and perversion, and excuse it by saying, “I don’t listen to the lyrics; I just like the beat.” When I look at this, it makes me realize why so many people are depressed, angry, or lustful.

I challenge you to clean out your music library and ask, “Is this glorifying God?” Everybody else is flowing with the stream; as a Christian, you’re not called to. 

This is how people become numb today with cuss words. Let us purify our ears, our eyes, and not allow garbage to enter. 

3. Meditate On The Bible

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:2

The Bible mentions the idea of meditation on the Word 23 times, 19 of those times are in the Psalms. All of us know how to meditate. If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. If you know how to rehearse a conversation in your mind, you know how to meditate on God’s Word. 

I want to highlight meditation because, in our culture, it is being hijacked by people who propagate New Age practices, where it is presented alongside yoga to help you deal with your anxiety. Christian meditation is different. Christian meditation fills your mind. Eastern meditation is demonic meditation because it teaches you to empty your mind. 

How do you get the air out of a cup? You have to fill it with water.

Eastern meditation is passive; all about calming yourself. Biblical meditation is aggressive, it is about taking thoughts captive; it is warfare. It also opens the door to the Holy Spirit. All other meditation exposes you to demons. With Biblical meditation, you get God’s peace and joy. 

Eastern meditation is about detachment from everything, but Christian meditation is about attachment to God’s Word, His commandments, and His Spirit. There is a world of difference. 

4. Memorize Verses From The Bible

Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures not the power of God.

Matthew 22:29

Jesus called the Pharisees ignorant of the Bible because they had not learned it or memorized it. Jesus Himself quoted the Old Testament at least 60 times. In His battle in the wilderness (Matthew 4), He didn’t have a Torah to scroll through to find a quote.

You don’t have to learn all of it but start with a verse. It could be John 3:16 or any other. Let me give you a habit: one verse a week. Put it on your bathroom door, car, fridge, and on your phone screen saver.

5. Obey The Bible

This is the hardest one. Every other step leads to this one.

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Matthew 7:24

Someone who builds their house on the rock is someone who reads, hears, meditates, memorizes, and then obeys the Bible.

If you memorize the verse husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church, and you memorize it in Hebrew and Greek and have it placed all over your house but don’t actually love your wife, you have missed the point. 

Is the Bible your church snack or your meal?

Snacks don’t keep us alive. They are just something that keeps us from getting too hungry, once in a while. Don’t make the Bible your snack, make it your meal.