I woke up in the early morning and instead of scrolling down
Facebook, I decided to listen to a bible app that I have on my phone. I chose to listen
to Romans because it’s what I’m reading on my devotional plan. Laying there wide-awake
in the dark and listening to the Word was different for some reason. Before today, I wasn’t a
fan of listening to the bible because I felt I couldn't sink my teeth
into the scriptures and meditate on them the way I could reading them. I also always felt it was just downright lazy. However, all
that has changed. As I was listening to the Scriptures, I found myself holding on to
every word, every nuance of the text. I was completely engrossed. A desire built up in
me to hear more.There were concepts that I glazed over in Romans while reading, but
they possessed a new life and vitality in hearing them. They jumped out at me
like never before. Before I got tired, I listened to the first seven chapters and half
of eight. This might not seem like a lot to some, but it's a lot for me. My use of the app could be considered infrequent bordering on rare. Thankfully, God granted me a renewed and deeper understanding of biblical truths in Romans. I'm looking forward to rediscovering the Scriptures all again and for God to exponentially increase my faith through hearing His Word.
Because I love learning and reading, I always prefer
to have information in written form so I can refer back to it and read it
several times to analyze and commit to memory if necessary. Silent reading is said
to greatly enhance comprehension and retention of the material. I thought about
that in comparison to my eye-opening experience of hearing the Word. I shouldn't
have expected less. I shouldn't have judged audio bibles the way I did
because I’ve been missing out on wonderful way to feed my spirit with God’s
Word.
The bible is a living book and God
is faithful so when the Holy Spirit spoke through Paul saying, “so then faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, it will do what God has
intended it to do. Isaiah 55:11 reads, “My word that comes from My mouth will
not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper
in what I send it to do” (HCSB). God has given Christians the bible for instruction,
correction, encouragement, direction and salvation and it does just that! I
praise God for His faithfulness! I thank Him for restoring my appetite for His
truth. I thank Him for opening my ears,
mind and heart and increasing my faith through His Word which is powerful to
save and will never pass away.
P.S. I use the Bible.is app. Besides the audio bible, it has other great features including a few familiar translations of the bible, with or without dramatizations, a place to capture notes, and access to the full length "Jesus" movie. That's a pretty solid app in my opinion. Here is a link to access the bible.is website where you can download the app and get more information. http://www.bible.is/about
That's so great. There's audio bible I forget the name and it is so good. When I get back to school I will let you know. The thing is there's such versatility with everything in life and God is versatile because He's limitless. So, I'm glad that you had such a wonderful experience.
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