When you do, God promises the Word will exalt and promote you and bring you to honor. Who could ask for anything more?
There are two very practical ways to give the Word first place in your life.
First, plan your schedule around the Word instead of trying to squeeze the Word into your schedule. As you mentally plan each day, automatically set aside time to study the Word first.
I know from experience what an impact that can have on your life. About 45 years ago, I heard a great man of God—Oral Roberts—say that the Lord had instructed him to read the Gospels and the book of Acts three times in 30 days, to get a greater revelation of Jesus. That inspired me to do the same thing.
I knew the Lord wanted me to begin at once—but it couldn’t have been a more inopportune time.
We had just moved to Tulsa so Kenneth could attend Oral Roberts University. Everything at our house was still upside down. We hadn’t even finished unpacking.
In addition to all that, I had the children to care for. Both were at demanding ages—Kellie was 3 years old and John was 9 months. When they wanted something, they wouldn’t wait 30 minutes, much less 30 days!
'Where will I get the time?' I wondered.
Still, I was determined. No matter what it took, I was going to read the Gospels and Acts three times in 30 days.
I figured how many pages I needed to read each day in my "Amplified Bible." It came to four hours or more. Most of the reading had to be done while the children were asleep, so I set time aside three times a day. Rising at 5:30 a.m., I read until the rest of the family woke up. When the children took their naps in the afternoon, I read again. Then, at night, I would finish whatever was left.
Regardless of what happened or what needed to be done, I put God’s Word first. I thought the other things would just have to wait until next month, but God had a pleasant surprise in store for me!
Putting God’s Word First
The very first day, I sat down at 3 p.m. with my day’s work done—and I had already spent several hours in the Word! The following days, I continued to put God’s Word first. And by the end of the month, I’d painted and antiqued four pieces of furniture from start to finish, done the ironing (which had been accumulating for weeks), and had my house in order.
I was amazed. I would never have been able to do that under normal conditions!
Back then Kenneth and I knew very little about how to live by faith. I didn’t know the Word makes your way prosperous and causes good success (Joshua 1:8, "AMP"). I didn’t know that if you put God’s wisdom first, it would exalt and promote you.
But I experienced a miracle of God just the same. By faith, I had put His Word first, and He caused Proverbs 4:7-8 to come to pass in my life.
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