I have stored up Your Word

              in my heart,

that I might not

           sin against You.

             Psalm 119. 11

(Stored up in my heart,

    not in my notebook.

Reading, meditating,

    memorizing, living it out,

       not just giving it a nod.

Every time we open God's Word,

     we cannot help

           but being changed by it,

     and everyone around us

              is infected.

Do we even consider His Word

         as a protection?

Not as an impenetrable shield,

       but a deeply saturated soul.

Through His Word,

  God does not turn me from sin.

             He changes my appetite.

He gives me strength

   to follow Him,

           to respond and love

           in impossible places,

the courage to push back

                the darkness,

  and to live out His Word.

These are not just words on a page,

    but the very Word of God.)

O LORD,

Penetrate our hearts with Your Word

   not just to avoid potholes

but to live out Your Word

        even in the turmoil around us.

Your Word does not just protect us,

    but protects others

    by how we choose to live with You.

Work Your Word in us this very day

   that You may be glorified.

Help us to approach difficulty

          with a new heart

  because we have spent time with You.