When was the last time somebody said your name to you?
Dale Carnegie once declared,
“A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
God is all about personally putting your name along with His Living Word to personalize it just for you!
My new book is called, Love Speaks: 21 Ways to Recognize God’s Multi-Faceted Voice. In it, I share that hearing God’s voice through Scripture, through the Living Word, is the second most common of 21 possible ways to have personal contact with God.
I also teach on this topic in my new Love Speaks Masterclass, available now on the GOD TV eLearning Platform.
Let’s define exactly what I mean by the “Living Word.”
A Word From the Word
One of the Greek words that Paul uses for “Word”, as in, “the Word of God” is Rhema. Rhema can best be defined as “the living, breathing, personal and fully applicable Word of God.” The rhema Word of God breathes new life into your spirit, opens your spiritual eyes, and adds fresh illumination from the Word into your spirit.
When Paul writes to the church at Rome he shares this revelation, “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (Rhema) of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
He specifically uses the word “Rhema,” and so he’s talking about the power of the “Living Word” to bring growth in faith.
One of my favorite Psalms declares,
“Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
The poetic psalmist understood a thousand years before the appearance of Jesus the Messiah how important it is that we allow the Living Word of God to speak personally to us. He lightens the darkness around us, like a flickering candle light on the path ahead.
Could it be that Jesus Himself is initiating contact with you through His Word? Is He shouting an answer to your prayers before you call out?
All Scripture is God-breathed, so in its fresh and relevant context it contains power. Real power!
God is Calling Your Name
Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Rev. Billy Graham, shares a story about the simplicity of receiving the Living Word in her book, “Expecting to See Jesus.”
She had felt stretched and weak at this particular retreat. Anne was also the teacher that week!
Anne shares, “The morning of the first day, I opened the Daily Light, a volume of selected Scriptures I have read every day of my life. Here is the way I “heard” those Scriptures that morning,
‘Be strong…and work, for I am with you, Anne,’ says the Lord of Hosts.
“Lord, You mean I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me?”
‘Yes, Anne, (Be) strong in the Lord and in the power of His might…the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
The Lord turned to Anne and said, “Go in this might of yours. If God is for you, Anne, who can be against you? Therefore, Anne, you have received mercy, so do not lose heart.”
“As I read those verses, I clearly and distinctly heard my Shepherd speaking to me with a heart filled with compassion, sensitive to the challenge that was facing me and with genuine understanding of my weakness. I was so encouraged and strengthened by His words that I was enabled to carry out my assignment triumphantly.” -Anne Graham Lotz
The Living Word Will Light Your Way!
Wow, how encouraging! Dare to add your own name to some of your most treasured Scriptures that are lighting your way as you journey ahead! The Living Word really does speak your name!
Note: This teaching is adapted from Chapter 2 of my book, Love Speaks, and is based on some material in the teaching session in my new Love Speaks Masterclass. Get the Love Speaks Masterclass today on the GOD TV eLearning Platform.
Here is a preview of the Masterclass e-course…
Read also: Love Speaks: Do You Hear Voices?
