Question 42: How is the Word of God to be read and heard? Answer: With diligence, preparation, and prayer; so that we may accept it with faith, store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives. Ezra 7:10 pictures for us what a godly life looks like: "For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel." Godliness begins with receiving the Word of God into our hearts. For Ezra, that meant studying the Law of t

Question 42: How is the Word of God to be read and heard? Answer: With diligence, preparation, and prayer; so that we may accept it with faith, store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives. When Isaiah the prophet was commissioned to proclaim the Word of the Lord to Judah, the message he was given was, "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the hearts of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they

Ezra is a model for us on how to orient our lives toward the Word of God.

It is possible to hear God's Word without understanding and to see God's truth without perceiving. May it not be so for us.