“Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” Psalm 119:36-37 KJV
“Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.” Psalm 119:36-37 NLT
Psalm 119 uses many different words and phrases that pertain to God’s law, or God’s Word, and every verse stresses the importance of it. We cannot separate God from His Word. We cannot love God without loving His Word.
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The writer went on to say in verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus was the Word clothed in human flesh.
The Psalmist prayed that the Lord would make him eager to know His Word. The more we read the Bible, the more we learn about the Lord Jesus Christ, and the more we desire to draw closer to Him. The closer we draw to Him, the more we want to read and study His Word. As we read it prayerfully, it becomes alive in our hearts. When we are facing problems or having to make decisions, we find the answers in His Word.
We often hear the quote: “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” That is true, if we allow sinful things to fill our hearts and minds, we lose our desire to read the Word of God, because we know that it will convict us. But with the Word of God hidden in our hearts, we can resist the things that would try to turn us away from God. Another verse in this 119th Psalm tells us that we should hide His Word in our hearts, so that we might not sin against Him.
The Word of God is as necessary to our spiritual health as food is to our natural health. The Cambridge dictionary describes eagerness as: 1. wanting very much to do or have something, especially something interesting or enjoyable: 2. having or showing desire or interest. This is how we should approach our Bible reading every day.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for your Word which gives us guidance and direction. May we approach it with eagerness and a strong desire to hide it in our heart.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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