Why would a person want to make Scripture a daily habit? To have a changed life! “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 (NASB) Did you notice that they examined the Scriptures daily? They made interacting with the Bible a daily habit.

Read and Meditate on Scripture

Read God’s Word. Hear His voice and obey Him. God speaks, acts, teaches, and guides through His Word. Repent when convicted by a passage and change your behavior. This brings freedom! Create “space” that allows Jesus to abide in an inner place in your heart. Abide in Jesus like the song “In the Garden” describes, “He walks with me, and he talks with me.” Become a friend of God!

Reflect on God’s works as you meditate on Scripture. Look at the flowers or butterflies God created. Really look at them! God can reach us beautifully in this simple act if we will quiet ourselves to listen.

Meditating on Scripture centers on internalizing and personalizing the portion of the Bible you are reading. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 (ESV) Don’t “speed read” the scripture. Try to imagine yourself right there in the experience being described in the passage and apply your senses as you read.

Memorizing Scripture

Internalize God’s Word and allow it to change you. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12

Equip yourself for the obstacles and blessings of life by committing God’s Word to memory. God often will bring a verse you have learned to your mind. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Techniques for Bible memory include repeated reading aloud of small sections of Scripture, using flash cards, and engaging with Bible Memory apps that can help you memorize what God’s word.

Praying Scripture

Pray the Scripture back to God. There are examples for us to follow. Jesus prayed the Scripture back to God in Luke 23:46: “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

The church prayed Scripture back to God in Acts 4: 23 – 26:

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.

How does one pray the Scripture back to God? Read a passage of Scripture. Pay attention to words, phrases, or verses that jump out at you. Read it again and ask how the verse relates to the things you are praying about. Then pray using the words of Scripture as you align your heart with God’s and pray according to His will.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” – 1 John 5:14 This verse gives us confidence to pray because we know that God hears our requests when they are aligned with His will. The Word tells us many promises that we can pray to Him.

Action Step

Where to start? Track your Bible habit of reading and interacting with God’s Word, memorizing Scripture, and praying Bible-based prayers back to God. One idea for tracking your Scripture praying habit is to write a verse a day in a journal and praying that verse to the Lord. The result of this daily habit results in spiritual growth and development, a changed life, and improved relationships with God, yourself, your family, and others.

May God bless you on your wellness journey!

Joni

PS What experience do you have with the daily habit of spending time in Scripture?