How Do I Be Consistent In God's Word?

Question: I'm having trouble being consistent in valuing God's Word. Suggestions?

First of all, why is it important for us to value God's Word? To put it first place in our lives? God's Word, although comprised of different authors, is all inspired by God (II Timothy 3:16).

It is God's expressed will for us. It is His love letter to us. More than that, the writer of John 1:1 tells us the Word is God. If we value and consistently put the Word first place in our lives, we are putting God first. We are spending time with Him.

Jesus advises us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto us.

What does that mean? The Amplified version sheds some light on the issue. It clarifies this as seeking His way of doing and being right. In other words, we are to seek God's ways of doing things. How do we do that? By reading the Bible.

I wake up and confess the Word. I have a booklet of Scripture-based confessions that I speak aloud over my life every morning. The purpose of this exercise is to put myself in agreement with God's Word concerning my life, to hear myself agreeing with it aloud. If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17) , then faith will come by hearing myself agree with God's Word.

Afterward, I read the Bible. I read one chapter in Proverbs every morning. The chapter I read depends upon the date. For example, if today is the 12th, then I read chapter 12. On the last day of the month, I read the remaining chapters. Following the Bible reading, I read a devotional in a devotional book. Right now I am reading Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now devotional.

In addition to this, though, I use Scriptures to write articles and blogs. I am consistently using the Word of God, looking up Scriptures, taking Bible courses.

I find that if I develop a routine, if I do the same things repeatedly, I become in a habit. For example, I read my Bible in the morning. I am in that habit. For me, that is putting God first in my life.

A better time to read the Bible may be after we put the kids to bed or on our lunch break. No matter when we read it, we must establish a habit of doing it consistently before it will ever become a good stronghold in our lives.

More than just reading the Word, though, we must agree with the Word. As we established before, God is His Word.

When we agree with what God says, we are voting with God. Three people get to vote on what happens in our lives---us, God and the devil. We are the deciding factor. Whoever we agree with will determine the outcome of our lives.

It is important to know what God says. Since the Bible is the ultimate truth, it is essential that we agree with it.

No matter what the "facts" look like, we need to defer to the Word of God. Facts--the things that we experience with our five senses, the things that are our reality, are subject to change to the truth of the Word of God.

How do we agree with God's Word? We speak it over our lives and our circumstances. What we focus on, what we give attention to, will become our reality.

Take a situation. Go find a list of Scriptures on that subject. For this list, try a concordance or an online Bible resource.

Then start personalizing these Scriptures over the situation. For instance, Give and it shall be given unto me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38) becomes I give and it shall be given unto me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

We have to agree with God's Word. We have to speak His Word over our situations and our circumstances (Mark 11:23). Then and only then will we see them change.

Consistency is the key, but it requires some effort every day. It requires a plan.

Now some people subscribe to the read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan, but I have never been able to stick to that plan. I start out okay. I make it to Deuteronomy, but I end up quitting in the wilderness. Although I have read through the New Testament. For me, though, reading three to five chapters a day just to cross them off my to-do list is not worth it. I haven't comprehended the passages.

Instead I believe that using devotionals or picking a book of the Bible and reading one chapter of it every day will help us comprehend what we are reading more effectively. With a devotional, we can gain better insight into what the Scripture is saying.

I also suggest workbooks, such as Kenneth Hagin's on Faith and Healing or Beth Moore's one, Breaking Free. Then we can work through the subject with the author, doing an in-depth study. Many places online offer free Bible courses as well.

We have to decide which methods work best for us and our lifestyle. Then it's time to decide where and when to do our study of the Bible. In the mornings? After the kids are in bed? During our lunch break?

Consistency is the key. Don't skip days. We must be consistent no matter what is happening in our lives. Whether we are having a good day or a bad one. No matter what, we need to develop a habit of putting God's Word first.

If we do, God will reward us for diligently seeking Him (Hebrews 11:6).

About the Author

Annagail Lynes is the author of the Go To The Secret Place. Meet God. devotional. To learn more about her book and sign up for her free ezine, visit http://www.annagaillynes.net.