Blessed is the man…[whose] delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
—Psalm 1:1-2
There is a desire in the church for more Bible study. Evangelists like D. L. Moody and others have proved what power there is in preaching drawn directly from God’s Word and inspired by the faith of its power. Christians have asked, “Why can’t our ministers speak in the same way, giving the very Word of God more emphasis?” Many young ministers have come away from seminary confessing that they were taught everything except the knowledge of how to study the Word or how to help others study it. In some churches, the desire has been expressed to supply this need in the training of ministers. Yet it has been difficult for men with theological training to return to the simplicity of God’s Word. This simplicity is necessary in order to teach younger men the way to make Scripture the one source of their knowledge and teaching.
The Word brings us into the most intimate fellowship with God—unity of will and life. In the Word, God has revealed His whole heart and all His will. In His law and precepts, He tells us what He wants to do for us. As we accept that will in the Word as from God Himself and yield ourselves to its working, we learn to know God in His will. The Word works out His richest purpose as it fills us with the reverence and dependence that comes from the divine presence and nearness. Nothing less than this must be our aim and our experience in our study of the Bible.
In Holy Scripture we have the very words in which the holy God has spoken and in which He speaks to us. Today these words are full of the life of God. God is in them and makes His presence and power known to those who seek Him in them. To those who ask and wait for the teaching of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, the Spirit will reveal the spiritual meaning and power of the Word. The Word is thus meant every day to be the means of the revelation of God Himself to the soul and of fellowship with Him.
Have we learned to apply these truths? The Word tells us to seek God, to listen for God, to wait for God. God will speak to you; let God teach you. All we hear about more Bible teaching and study must lead to this one thing. We must be Christians in whom the Word is never separated from the living God Himself. We must live as Christians to whom God speaks every day and all day long.