Ilumination
Benefits of Reading The Word
Some people say that the Bible
is boring. Some say that they
cannot understand it. A few others
started the year planning to complete
the Bible in one year but have
since fallen off track. I also used
to think that the Bible was
super boring. I understood some parts
and other parts appeared to be
written in an unknown language.
I did not delight in reading
the Word of God kan kan
(at all, at all)
All this changed when I listened
to Rabbi, @GbengaWemimo teach
on the word of God sometime in early
2020. He encouraged us to read
the book of John out loud, at least
5 times. I wondered why there was
an emphasis on reading the word
of God out loud.
Why couldn’t we just read it
like we would read our textbooks
or novels? He referred to Joshua
1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you
shall read [and meditate on] it
day and night, so that you
may be careful to do [everything]
In accordance with all that is
written in it; for then you
will make your way prosperous,
and then you will be successful.”
I learned that when we read
the word of God out loud,
that we use our eyes to see
the word, we speak it out
with our mouths and we listen
to it with our ears. Three senses
are involved in taking in the
word of God. Also our environment
hears the word of God and
it comes alive when we read
the word of God out loud.
I was like “so you mean
the word of God was meant
to be read out loud?”.
Wow!
I had never seen Joshua 1:8 in
that light. So I decided to practice
what I had been taught.
I remember reading Ezekiel chapters
1 and 10 out loud. To be honest,
I didn’t fully understand what I was
reading but after about 15-20 minutes,
I noticed a change in my atmosphere.
I felt like a power surge in the room
and goosebumps broke out on my skin.
The hair on the back of my neck
stood up. I could feel the
presence of God so mightily
in the room. It was an
awesome experience.
This experience encouraged me to start
reading the book of John out loud.
My God!!
Apostle John made Jesus so real
and so powerful in the book of John.
I started to enjoy reading the
word of God. It tasted like honey.
So so sweet. I started thinking
about the word of God all the time.
Everything else was a distraction.
I was always talking about what
I had read to everyone around me.
The book of John also opened up the
supernatural to me.
I took it a step further after
my bestie @sicamoore told me of
how she used her imagination whilst
reading the word of God, and I
started to imagine myself, going about
with Jesus and the disciples, I started
to imagine myself performing the
miracles Jesus performed. As I saw
myself doing this in my imagination,
I started to do it in the physical.
The experience was and continues to
be glorious. It makes the scriptures
come alive for me. Now, when
I read the word of God, I ask
the Holy Spirit to help me understand
what I am reading. Since I started
doing this, I have noticed that
I have a better understanding of
the word of God.
The Holy Spirit opens my eyes
to see hidden truths in the scriptures.
The word of God guides me when
I need to know what steps to take.
When I need to respond to questions,
the Holy Spirit reminds me of a verse
that answers the questions perfectly.
I can use particular scripture to
enforce healing and break the hold
of the enemy over a situation.
So, let’s start reading the word
of God out loud if we haven’t
been doing this.
Should we start a “Read The
Book of John Out Loud 5 times Challenge”,
where we would read
out loud the book of John at
least 5 times and then come back
and share our experiences on Twitter?
Hebrews 4:12 NIV
“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.”
#ReadingthewordofGod
#ReadTheBookofJohnOutLoud5TimesChallenge
– Olufunto Phillips