What does “spending time in God’s word” even mean? Why should I bother about it?
This blog article provides answers to the above questions and more. It also torchlights the effect of the power of God’s word on the person who engages with it.
This is my argument. Spending time in God’s word comes with real benefits to be enjoyed by God’s people who are diligently engaging the word of God by executing certain spiritual activities.
Shall we?
Contents
What does it mean to spend time in God’s word?
Ever since a clock was used to coordinate labor, Time has been understood in relation to money. Fast forward to today, people are being paid an hourly rate for their work. It’s no surprise people think of Time in monetary terms such as “wasting”, “saving” or “spending” time.
In this light, spending time in God’s word could be seen as an investment because it does pay dividends.
The Christian Bible, viewed as the revelation of God recorded in human language, is the best-selling book as of 2021, according to Guinness World Records. It is also one of the most influential works ever written, directly or indirectly influencing basically all of civilization.
It is known for being a great source of happiness. Indeed, those words are spirit and life.
For emphasizing priority, the psalmist says in Psalms 119:72; The law that you gave means more to me than all the money in the world.
The general implied meaning of spending time in God’s word is usually equated to reading or studying the bible but there is more to spending time in the word of God than a mental or cognitive exercise.
Spending time in God’s word means intentionally taking out hours from your days to engage the word of God and get immersed into it till the point it permeates our subjective experience.
Scripture talking about spending time in God’s word.
One passage of scripture that talks extensively about spending time in God’s word is Psalms 119. The Psalmist, in its 176 verses, discusses the value, justice, light, and safety of the law of God.
After announcing all that he enjoys from God’s word, he declares his determination to love, trust and walk in obedience to the instructions of God.
Let’s look at more bible verses about spending time in God’s word;
Psalms 119:97
Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.
Joshua 1:8
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
Psalm 27:4
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.
Psalm 1:2:
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
1 Timothy 4:15:
“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”
James 1:25:
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
2 Tim 2:15:
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
Psalm 119:105:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:15:
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Psalm 119:48:
“I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.”
Psalm 119:99:
“I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.”
Benefits of spending time in God’s word.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”- Psalm 103:1-2.
TLDR:
- A new way of thinking
- Competence in matters of the spirit.
- Have something to offer
- Establish the will of God for your life
- An extraordinary life
#1. Mind renewal: a new way of thinking.
Activity: Reading.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
Paul’s advice for walking in disagreement with the sinful ways of the world starts with a change of mindset. He charges believers to leverage the transformative power of the word of God for mind renewal.
When you spend time reading God’s word, your thinking begins to change from worldly to godly because the word of God embodies godly values and ethics,
Now, we are impervious to the sways of the evil spirit in the world because our mind is set on God’s laws which know by reading them.
#2: Competence in matters of the spirit.
Activity: Studying.
One key domain in personal well-being is spirituality. Thus, a person who neglects spiritual growth is unlikely to attain a state of complete happiness and a sense of fulfillment in life. This is a problem faced by many people today.
Both your divine mission and God-given assignment ride on the back of spirituality. Your level of spirituality cannot be subpar if you’re going to succeed in the purposes of God.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
Thankfully, we have his word serving as a study guide and instruction manual to train us to be and do all that God has destined.
#3: Fruitfulness: Have something to offer.
Activity: Meditating | Anchor Text: Psalms 1:1-3.
When you properly meditate, you internalize the message in God’s word. A part of God’s word now lives within you, going wherever you go. It blesses your life and blesses those who come in contact with you.
You have something to give. People will seek after you because of what you know and carry. With it, You can raise unto life as a fruity meal does, restore unto the right path, and reawaken the spirits of those seeking after what you carry.
Now, with the tool of God’s word, you can make a lasting impact on one life, then a million, and then the entire world. It starts by spending time in God’s word.
#4 Benefit: Establish the will of God for your life.
Activity: Praying.
Daniel 9:2-5: “In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
Sometimes, some of the circumstances that beset us are not in alignment with God’s will and plan for us. We could either be experiencing something that is inconsistent with the will of God or not seeing or experiencing the things that God has provided for us.
However, thankfully, when we pray the properly interpreted-and-applied word of God, we are praying the will of God. By spending time in prayer praying God’s word, we allow God to move in our life establishing his goodwill for us.
#5 Benefit: An extraordinary life.
Activity: Practicing.
All that matters is today. For what you do over the next 24 hours truly is creating your future. – Robin Sharma
When you understand this phenomenon, you would better appreciate the importance of God’s word.
It means that by spending time doing what the word of God says, we are creating a future for ourselves designed by God. What an extraordinary life it would be. It is extraordinary due to the input from the sovereign God, and also because we, his children, no longer conform to the way of the world as we earlier saw in benefit #1.
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25
This extraordinary life is marked by preservation, prosperity(Ps 1:3), safety, and a guaranteed outcome.
Final Word on Spending Time in God’s Word.
The written word of God is accessible to every person who can read. Yet not everybody embraces what the bible says nor experiences it in their lives.
God’s people embrace the bible in its entirety, experience it for themselves, and enjoy the full benefits of spending time in God’s word.
Spending time in God’s word is one sure way to understand the scripture in systems and see the full picture. Think about creating structures to better manage your time so you can enjoy all the benefits therein.
Don’t forget to be grateful for the gift of his word. Spend time in God’s word
Is there a benefit of spending time with God you enjoy that is not listed in this article? Tell us in the comment section. It might just be enough reason for a person to declare the words of Psalmist in Psalm 119:72.
