Psalm 19:14
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
John Gill in his commentary on Psalm 19:14 says, “as words and thoughts are, when they are according to the word of God; and as the sacrifices of prayer, whether vocal or mental, and of praise, are through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Our disciplines are our worship. As we hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on Scripture, we worship and praise Jesus Christ our Lord. We were created to worship and glorify Him. Yet, so sadly, the Word of God is a discipline that many times is nonexistent and void from a Christian’s life, except for maybe on a Sunday.
Bible verse memorization and meditations are disciplines that result from an overflow of holy Scripture which is consumed in our daily Bible reading. Partnerships are essential in the Christian life. The Lord Jesus Christ created and gave us the church, a community of faith to nurture and help build us up in the faith. Yet, it is also revealed in Scripture and necessary for us in our spiritual walk to have a partnership with God. The Holy Spirit is the promised one that now lives within us to teach, guide, direct, correct, and lead us into all paths of righteousness for His namesake. With all these resources at our disposal as a Christian, we must by faith be faithful to what God has given us. God gave us his Word and we need to read and study it. God gave us the church and we need to be in this community of faith so we may grow in our faith and be equipped for service to our God and to His people. God also gave us the Holy Spirit so we can be taught as we abide in Him. With each gift, God does expect us to be obedient and act. As Christians, we must always be mindful of what James, the brother of our Lord said in James 1:22-25,
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 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.”
To get to this higher level (acting and not just hearing), we need a discipline that will get the Word of God off of the page of the Bible and into our hearts and mind. Psalm 119:11 expresses it this way, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” We need to store up God’s Word so we also can grow in godliness, which is holiness in Christ. Being a retired school teacher, I know and I taught others, my students, the art of learning. We learn by memorizing and me reviewing or internalizing the information. In other words, we learn by memorizing and mediation. These basic spiritual disciplines are necessary for the Christian in his spiritual walk with Christ.
For me, as I read the Scriptures in my daily Bible reading plans, there will be a verse that speaks to me immediately. Sometimes it may be a verse I have never really considered before. Other times, it may be a verse that is most familiar because I learned it as a child. Either way, the Holy Spirit is leading you to a Bible verse so you can reflect, internalize, learn, worship God, grow in your faith, and sometimes lead you to repentance and make you more holy like Jesus. When I see a Bible verse that I need to mediate on, I will write the passage on an index card so I can carry the verse with me wherever I go. I use the card to read and read, so I can memorize it. As I read it over and over, I meditate on what this verse means to me and how I can be changed more fully into the image of His dear Son. Jesus Christ.
Then I pray, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord my God. In Jesus’ name, I pray.
Amen!