In Deuteronomy 6:6 we see that “these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”
If God’s words are to be written on our hearts (and we are further commanded to teach these words diligently to our children) then I want to know, “how exactly do the words of God get written on our hearts?” Is this something I can do, something God does, or a combination of the two?
In Ezekiel 11:19-20 God says, “I will remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh so that they may walk in my statutes and obey them.”
Again, the generosity of God is evident as we see Him prepare the heart to receive his word. God changes our hearts so that the soil of our souls is tender to receive His word. In Matthew 13:23 we read “as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
We hear the word, but how do we understand the word? 1 Corinthians 2:12 shows us that God gives us His Spirit so that we may understand His word.
When we read His word, we ask Him to make it clear to us. We pray for understanding, and He promises to give understanding to us.
When I consistently read the Bible and pray, I see God leading the plow of His word through the soil of old patterns, ideologies, and habits in my life. He skillfully uproots weeds and casts out stones preparing in me a ready field for His good word to be planted and abound.
What is in my heart will overflow onto every small and large moment of my parenting. Like a beautiful melody that plays on repeat in my head, I want to be filled with His word. “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
My part is to pray and stay, to stare into the face of God by reading through His word over and over again, to study His patterns and responses, to behold the radiant Glory of His Goodness and let His image shape my own.
