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Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119: 11)

Do you realize that the only Bible the devil fears is the one in a believer’s heart?

He does not care how many versions you have, how many study and reference materials you have, how much cross reference you can do for any single verse. He does not even care how seamlessly you can connect the Greek and Hebrew to contemporary issues. All this, though useful, is stubble to the enemy of our souls.

It is like nutrition. What is absorbed into our body is what becomes useful, or harmful, to our bodies.

That is why you will find someone who barely has food to eat yet their body is healthy and even has some fat reserves when there is somebody who is always eating the best foods yet not only does he never add any weight, he always looks sickly and weak.

That is exactly how God’s word works in our spirits. It is what gets absorbed into our spirits that becomes useful because that is what makes the spiritual blocks of our spiritual building.

Those proclamations and possessing and grabbing statements you pick from sermons have nil power to resist the evil one.

You see, the devil also knows the Bible, a little too well. He can therefore twist it at will for his purpose, which means for the purposes of getting us outside God’s will.

If he could quote the Bible to the author of the same (Jesus), do you think he would be scared of doing the same to you? And if Jesus used the same Bible to answer back, do you think there is a wiser response to the devil’s misquoting of the Bible?

And it goes beyond quoting the scriptures. They must be given authority to completely run our lives through valuing it to the extent of deciding to live according to its precepts.

You see, the only Bible the devil has no chance of corrupting is the one that has become part of the believer.

Let me give a Biblical illustration.

Remember David running away from Saul who was trying his best to kill him? Then God hands Saul to him on a golden platter, totally harmless.

Circumstantially, that is the miracle of a lifetime. Then there are witnesses who are reminding him of previous prophecies about God handing his enemies to him, more likely quoting scripture or a word from a real prophet. And finally they were willing to fulfill the word themselves, meaning he will not even be the one to kill his enemy. And I am sure his whole system was crying that he get rid of that bothersome enemy.

But his spirit was alive to a consistent intake of God’s word. His spirit was alive to a life lived according to God’s word.

At that time, God’s word came alive amidst all the conflicting and logical emotions.

Who has any right to touch the Lord’s anointed?

You see, God is the One who has released the word just as He is the One who had anointed Saul as king. He therefore is the one who can issue accurate instructions about dealing with His anointed.

And that is the level the devil has no chance of penetrating or even approaching.

I think you also remember Job not only dealing with hardship but also having to deal with friends who were quoting scripture to explain their theology. And He was able to overcome because he had God’s word in His heart. No wonder God could boast about him to the devil!

How do I have God’s word in my heart? What is the difference between having God’s word in my head and in my heart?

I will give another verse.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7)

It is talking about God’s word finding its residence in our hearts; meaning occupying a pivotal position in my life. It means giving God’s word the preeminence we give to God. Look at this other verse.

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. (Psalm 138:2)

The word must be given authority to run our lives; with our willing and joyful anticipatory permission.

It is not a compulsory type of absorption. We do not take that word in to fill a log or fulfill a duty. We take it in as a joy, a greatly desirable pursuit, a pursuit we can forego necessary food to pursue like the psalmist.

There are essential steps to store God’s word in our hearts.

First listen to it in its undiluted format. We must avoid the sweet easy digest readings. We must avoid listening to only what we enjoy hearing. Avoid those motivational high energy sermons that leave you charged but without an action plan that will give glory to God. An audio Bible is one very useful tool, and you can even download it free on the internet.

Second, we must read the Bible completely and consistently. We must develop a habit of daily reading enough chapters. And we must make sure we are always reading the whole Bible. Let us avoid choosing favorite chapters and books in our reading. One very useful habit is setting apart time early in the morning before doing anything else as that is when your mind and systems are at their sharpest. Reading through the Bible yearly is one very profitable decision to make. And that is why I am always giving out reading plans.

Most important is that you must take seriously everything the Bible says. You see God did not write it for discussion or as a suggestion. He issued it to be obeyed. That is why we have the Ten Commandments and the Great Commission, nothing near discussion points or suggestions. In Matthew 7, He compares the listening experts and the doing servants using different illustrations. One is the consequence of those actions and the other has the outcome of the same.

God’s word sinks into our hearts the more we obey whatever we read as opposed to reasoning and discussing, unless it is discussing the most effective way of obedience.