In this episode, we’re talking about Spiritual Growth.
Hebrews 5:14 says, “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

Spiritual maturity doesn’t just happen with the passage of time. The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews had been believers long enough to be teachers themselves. Instead, the writer says they needed to be taught again the basics of the Christian faith.

How about you? What would your growth assessment be? Not to worry, whatever it is, you can change it.

Spiritual maturity comes to those who train for it. And that’s just what we’re doing in this series on Spiritual Growth.

Transcript

Welcome to the simple truth big change podcast. I’m your host, Heather Duff, and this is where we read and explore the simple yet powerful truth of the Bible. 

That truth makes a Big Change in our lives.

In this episode, we’re talking about Spiritual Growth. Last week we read Hebrews 5:12, which says, “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

This passage teaches us that spiritual maturity doesn’t just happen with the passage of time. The recipients of this letter had been believers long enough to be teachers themselves. Instead, the writer says they needed to be taught again the basics of the Christian faith. 

How about you? 

If a similar letter was written to you today, what would your growth assessment be? Are you in line with where you should be? 

Babies depend on others to feed them, but adults—even older children—are self-feeders. I don’t sit in my chair, waiting for someone to fix my potatoes.

It’s the same thing with spiritual food. 

You can’t survive on a Sunday meal. If that’s the only time you’re being fed, you won’t be healthy.

Spiritual maturity comes to those who train for it. That’s what this verse in Hebrews tells us.

So what does spiritual training look like?

Physical training involves exercise, nutrition, and mental discipline. 

Spiritual training also involves several things.

Today, we’re going to talk about training in the Bible, the word of God. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are 4 great ways to get trained up and apply the word of God.

• Read Scripture
• Pray Scripture
• Meditate on Scripture
• And Do the Word.

Let’s explore these a little.

So, the first thing is to READ Scripture. 

When I read the Bible, I like to read longer passages to make sure I’m understanding the context. I’ve talked about my Bible reading method before so I won’t go into it here, but you can download a copy of the Bible reading plan I use by visiting my website, Heatherkduff.com, then click podcast on the top menu. 

I have some information on my Podcast page in the sidebar.

Why is Bible reading important?

Think about everything that goes through your mind on a given day. We live in the world, we hear things, see things. We feel things. Our lives are touched by the worldliness around us. And our minds are in desperate need of renewal. 

Getting into the word every day is a way of cleansing our minds. 

It is a continual, daily reminder of what is good, what is godly, what is pure, what is true.

Reading the Bible renews us. 

It gives us strength.

And peace.

Are you anxious? Stressed? Worried?

Open the word of God and meet Your Lord in those pages. The Word is Living. It’s alive.

Scripture is SO good for us. 

In John 6:68, Peter says to Jesus, where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

There is LIFE in His word. 

And we need it. 

So read the word! 

The second thing we can do to grow in the Lord is to PRAY Scripture. This is a great way to strengthen your prayer life. There’s just something about opening your mouth and saying God’s words back to Him. 

There are a few ways you can do this.  

First, a particular verse might just be on your mind. Maybe it just keeps bubbling up.

While you’re thinking on it, turn it into a prayer. 

This happens to me sometimes when I realize I’m anxious about something. I’ll remember the verse, “cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you.” It doesn’t matter if I know that’s 1 Peter 5:7. I know the words. I know the truth. So I can pray, Lord, I’m really anxious right now. I’m worried about this decision I have to make. You tell me to cast ALL my cares on You, because You care for me. You watch over all that concerns me, and Your word says that You LONG to be gracious to me. Oh, Father. I need that grace. I cast my cares, entrusting everything to You. 

So that’s how I might pray according to a verse I recall. 

But maybe you don’t know a specific Scripture to pray for the need you have. 

So this is another way to pray Scripture. You can use Google or a Bible app or a concordance. Look up a word, like worry or fear, and then read through the results. When one ministers to you, take that verse and turn it into a prayer, thanking God for what His word says.

And a third way to pray Scripture is to incorporate it into your Bible reading time. 

If you’re reading Philippians and some of those Scriptures touch your heart, just pause for a moment and thank God, express praise for what His word says, and reword that into a prayer. Not in a way that changes the meaning, but in a way that you would naturally say it back to God. 

For example, take Philippians 1:6. Paul says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” As I’m reading my portion of Scripture for the day, I may stop and say, “Oh, Lord. Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed. I get so weary in the battle. This is such a beautiful promise, to know that You ARE doing a work in me. A GOOD work. And regardless of my human frailty, You, Lord, YOU will complete what You’ve begun. 

One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve started spending more time reading the Bible. My prayer life has changed. It’s been infused with the Word of God. It’s like a whole new vocabulary has opened up to me, and I have more ways to express what’s in my heart. More ways to pray for the needs of others. 

I’m drawing on God’s word. It’s becoming a part of me in a way that wasn’t true when I wasn’t reading it as I should.

Do you wish you knew how to pray better? Sit down with your Bible and take in those words. 

When we read the Bible, we grow in the knowledge of God. And that knowledge enriches our relationship with Him. That makes our fellowship with Him sweeter. We’re not talking to a stranger. We’re talking to someone we have come to know and love. Someone who loves us with and everlasting love. 

And that love is evidenced through His word, time and time again. 

I think this is a good stopping point. 

We’ve talked about reading the Word, and praying the Word. Next time we’ll talk about the benefits of meditating on Scripture and also about being DOERS of the Word, not just hearers. 

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Thank you so much for tuning in!

I hope you’ll join me next time on the Simple Truth, Big Change podcast as we grow in the Lord, together. 

If this has blessed you, please share it with friends or on social media. 

If you don’t want to miss an episode, hit the subscribe button. 

And finally, you can learn more by visiting my website heatherkduff.com.