Interacting With The Word
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
The Word of God is living and active. This means that we can interact with God in His Word, and He will respond. When we open the Word, we should expect to encounter God.
Spirit Interaction
John 6:63
Just as Jesus’ words are spirit and life, the Word of God is also spirit. We should not read the Word with our mind alone, but also engage our spirit and all our senses (physical, soul and spirit).
Experiencing the Word
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Ezekiel 3:1-3
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’
Revelation 10:9
The prophet Ezekiel and Apostle John were both instructed to eat a scroll (in a vision). They experienced something in their spirit senses as they ate the scroll. I believe that these spiritual experiences they had, are a picture of how we can interact with God’s Word.
Enter the Reality of the Word
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:17
The word ‘truth’ Jesus used is the Greek word aletheia. Along with the normal meaning of truth, this word can also mean ‘reality’ – the reality or realm at the base of something that is manifested.
Therefore, the Word of God has a reality or realm inside it. We can enter the reality of the Word of God. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will guide us into the truth. We can trust the Holy Spirit to enable us to enter the reality of the Word of God. When we do this, we can receive revelation from the Word. It becomes real inside our spirit by the Spirit of God.
Many believers can testify to having encounter experiences interacting with the Word of God. We too can have these encounters.
Example: One day, I was reading scripture passages about God’s grace. I had been taught that grace is the unmerited favour of God.This is true but is limiting to our understanding and experience. As I dwelt in the Word around “grace”, another definition came to mind. Grace is the power and ability to do God’s will. As I read these passages, I could feel my spirit person expanding in faith. Now when I read these passages my spirit was interacting and receiving the “reality of grace” which strengthened my spirit man.
Example: Through the Cross
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
John 19:23
Another time, I was reading about Jesus on the cross, I was taken into a vision. I was standing in front of the cross. I could feel the roughness of the wood. As I was thinking about the cross, and what Jesus has done for us on the cross, I was suddenly drawn into the cross and through to the other side. I was then in a beautiful garden with streams, fruit trees, etc. It made me think of the garden of Eden. Then I heard the words “abundant life is yours.” As I medidated on this experience, I sensed the Lord saying, “Come through the cross to experience the abundance life He has for me.”
Bible Stories
80% of God’s word is in narrative (story) form. These were real historical events that occurred. Stories are powerful ways to communicate with people as they enable us to identify with the people in the stories. We can feel what they must have felt. The Holy Spirit can use these stories to speak to us.
Use your sanctified imagination to enter the Bible stories as you read. At times, we may even enter into an interactive experience with the story. In this way, these Bible stories become much more real to us. We can enter their reality.
Example: Let the little children come.
One day, I was reading a Bible passage about the little children being brought to Jesus. I wondered what it would be like to be a little child in Jesus’ arms and to be blessed by Him. Suddenly, in my spirit it was like I could feel the love of Jesus being as if I was held in His arms. There was powerful sense of security flowing through me. I was literally receiving His blessing. Then I became indignant at those (including the disciples) who tried to keep the children away. I realised how important it is to help people come into a real encounter with God and not listen to all the negative voices. This was what God wanted to communicate to me.
Meditating on the Word
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Meditating on the Word of God is the term that you may be more familiar with. I like to use the terms interacting or communicating with God in His word. Devotional reading and experiencing God in the Word can also be called meditating in the Word. The terms are not as important as meeting with God in His word.
All the above are some of the ways that we can hear God’s voice through His word. Try it and let me know your experiences.
INHERITANCE WORDS
It is a DELETE good to take the time to memorise these inheritance words and to print them out somewhere we can see regularly. These words are ours and we have permission to receive from them again and again. If these words contain promises to us, we can receive a greater measure of their fulfilment over time. In this sense they are truly prophetic words.
DIRECTION FROM THE WORD
It is a good thing to want to know specific direction from the Lord for our lives. He can certainly direct us through His Word. However, we should guard against using the Word ONLY as a kind of spiritual GPS by always looking for direction words. The classic case is someone who says to God, “I’m desperate, you need to speak to me from your Word about what I should do.” They then open the Bible at random and read the words, ‘and Judas hung himself.’ This is obviously not a wise way to use the Word. Remember we are in relationship with the Living God who knows and loves us.
The Lord can speak to us in our devotional reading of the Bible. He can also highlight a verse or story that speaks to us about our circumstances and future. Sometimes God will even use a Scripture out of context! We must be careful, however, that although a verse may be out of context but still speak to us, it should never violate the overall guidelines of the Scripture.
We should also apply other checks when we are making major decisions or giving words to others:
ACTIVATIONS
Chose a scripture passage from the following list:
| Reference | Description |
| Matthew 3:13-16 | Jesus’ baptism |
| Matthew 4:18-22 | Jesus calls his disciples |
| Matthew 5:13 – 16 | Salt and light |
| Matthew 6: 25-34 | Don’t worry |
| Matthew8:23-27 | Jesus calms the storm |
| Matthew 9:1-8 | Jesus forgives and heals |
| Matthew 11:25-30 | The Father revealed in the Son |
| Matthew 15:21-28 | Faith of the Canaanite woman |
| Matthew 17:1-13 | Transfiguration |
| Matthew 19:13-15 | Jesus and the little children |
| Matthew 25:1-13 | Ten virgins |
| Matthew 26:6-13 | Woman and the alabaster jar of perfume |
| Matthew 28:1-10 | Jesus’ resurrection |
| Luke 24:13-25 | Disciples on the road to Emmaus |
| Luke 24: 36-48 | Jesus appears to His disciples |
| John 21:15-19 | Jesus restores Peter |
Choose one or more of the following activations:
Write in your journal your experience and how the Lord is communicating with you as well as a way that you can respond to Him.
| 1 | Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the passage. What do you see and sense? Does something in the scene stand out to you? Are there any objects highlighted or expression on people’s faces? How is Jesus communicating with you? |
| 2 | Read the passage using a different Bible translation such as the Message or the Passion Translation. What different insights did you receive? https://www.biblegateway.com |
| 3 | Listen to the Bible passage. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/ |
| 4 | Write down three questions you would like to ask the Lord about the passage. Spend time waiting and listening to His replies. |
| 5 | Read the passage out loud twice as though you were telling the story to someone. Use expression and emotions. Then try to tell the story to someone else without looking at the written words. |
| 6 | What words stood out to you in the passage. Look up the fuller meanings of these words using the Blue Letter Bible (Lexicon) online (https://www.blueletterbible.org) |
| 7 | Spend time thinking about the larger story that this passage is a part of. What things happen in the lives of those in the story before and after this passage? |
| 8 | Highlight parts of the passage that ‘jump out’ to you as rhema words. Ask the Lord what He is saying to you. |
| 9 | Read the passage twice and then ask the Holy Spirit to take you into the realm of His Word. What are you seeing, experiencing? Do you have any visions or pictures? |
| 10 | Are there any aspects of your filters that may need to be adjusted as you see God in a greater way? |
| 11 | Ask the Holy Spirit to connect your spirit with the Spirit of the Word. Put on some quiet instrumental music and spend some time waiting and listening. |
Prayer
Holy Spirit please activate in me the ability to interact with the Word of God. Show me how God wants to communicate with me through His word and let them come alive in me. In Jesus’ name, I ask. Amen!
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