Internalizing the Word

“You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NLT)

My cousin’s kids are fluent in two languages--English and their ancestral language of Malayalam. They spoke English in school, with their friends, and heard it on TV.  So, how did they become proficient in a language that is rarely heard in the United States? Well, their parents spoke it at home. They heard it first thing every morning when they woke up and every evening as they lay down. They heard it in the car on their way back and forth to school and on vacation while they relaxed. They heard it when they prepared and ate their meals, when they worked, when they played, and when they prayed. The kids automatically absorbed their ancestral language through immersion. 

How can we be a part of this world and still understand our Father’s language? We can take every opportunity to saturate ourselves in the Word of God. Repetition and practice reinforce what we learn. Once we have internalized God’s directions, they spread, as if by osmosis, into all aspects of our lives. Thus, even when we live and work among those who cannot understand our spiritual language, we retain what we know and can use it whenever we need it. The Word of God, once imprinted deeply in our hearts, will continually influence us and those around us.