Taking the Word from Your Head to Your Heart

We should all study the Word of God. If you want to know God, His promises to you, and who you are in Christ; if you want to be transformed by the renewing of your mind; if you want to walk in obedience to the Lord, you must know the Word of God. In I Timothy 4:9, God commands that we train ourselves to be godly. The mature person in Christ easily distinguishes between good and evil.

I am going to show you how I study the Word in hopes of encouraging you who don't study or helping those who do and need some tips. I am going to use the KJV version. I love the KJV the most and the NIV the least. Since the KJV is more difficult to understand, you may want to read the NASB, especially when reading the Old Testament. I do fine with the KJV in the New Testament, but it's difficult for me to understand in the OT.

I will teach you how to study a portion of I Peter 3 since I teach on that chapter a lot and love it. First, read one verse at a time, write out what you think it means, and then pray over it.

#1 Verse 1 ~ Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives.

#2 'Likewise' refers to the previous chapter which speaks about Christ's suffering and how some wives may suffer in their marriage because of disobedient husbands just as Christ suffered from disobedient men. The wives still must be submissive to their husbands and win them with the way they live their lives and not with words.

#3 Pray over friends or women you know who are married to disobedient husbands. Pray their husbands will come to believe in the Lord and that the wives will be godly in their behavior.

#1 Verse 2 ~ While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear

#2 A woman wins her husband with godly behavior because lives in trust and not in fear.

#3 Pray that you will have godly behavior that trusts fully in the Lord so that your husband will be more drawn to the Lord, whether he is disobedient or not.

#1 Verse 3  ~ Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

#2 We must not think that our outward appearance is what attracts our husbands to Christ.

#3 Pray that you will focus much more on your inward beauty than your outward beauty and not waste so much of your time, energy, and money adorning yourselves with stuff of this world.

#1 Verse 4 ~ But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price

#2 We must keep our focus on adorning our heart by becoming meek and quiet since THIS is what God values! Listen to your husband, be quiet, and trust the Lord. {You don't always have to give your opinions to him, especially if they are always contrary to his.}

#3 Pray that you may become meek and quiet.

#1 Verse 5 ~  For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

#2 The women in biblical times actually adorned themselves by being submissive to their husbands!

#3 Pray that you will adorn yourself with submission to your husband and become beautiful to him.

#1 Verse 6 ~ Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement

#2 Sara obeyed her husband and we need to obey our husbands without any fear for God commands this from us. God is our ultimate protector.

#3 Pray that you would begin obeying your husband in everything and not being afraid. Trust God and that He knows what is best for you!

This is how I study and meditate upon the Word of God. Yes, it takes a while but it gets into your heart from your mind when you do this and pray it to the Lord. I encourage all of you to become women of the Word. It will NEVER be a waste of your time.