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James 1:19-21 emphasizes our responsibility to receive the Word of God. As with many things, we have to prepare ourselves to receive truth. Just as you have to prepare yourself to walk out the door each morning, you have to prepare your heart to receive Scripture. It is very easy to have the wrong attitude toward the Bible. As I considered these things in my own life, I wondered, “Am I aware of the level of depravity within my own heart? Do I recognize how my heart constantly wanders away from God?” Though hard to swallow at times, these realities show just how much I need the Word of God.

Each week, I have numerous interactions with Scripture, whether in my own Bible reading or hearing the Word preached. Yet before I even open my Bible, my heart already has a particular posture or attitude toward it. What do my thoughts and attitudes reflect? Do I first have an attitude of meekness that is ready to listen, or do I have a self-righteous anger that distances myself from biblical truth? As I evaluated this, I realized how often I find myself reading my Bible simply to "check off the box." Even when I have good intentions, I have also noticed how often my sinful and finite heart misses the mark. One area that I have especially noticed is application. (Ironic for the guy writing an ‘application’ blog post…)  If I fail to prepare my heart beforehand, my willingness to think through application is severely limited. It is easy to have this wrong attitude. Yet how can I change?

Realizing this issue exists provides a good first step toward the proper attitude. However, I still need to do the hard work of cultivating my heart toward the Word. Consider how you might be able to join me.

First, we can cultivate our hearts toward Scripture by thinking about the many ways we need the Lord. As we have already studied in James, we need God's Word to have wisdom in trials (1:5), to rightly evaluate our standing in life (1:9-10), and to have the right perspective in the midst of temptations (1:14-15). If James gives these few reasons, how much more should we realize our absolute dependence on biblical truth for all of life?

A second, more practical way toward the right perspective is to take a few moments of prayer. Maybe for you, it’s when you first get up in the morning, or maybe it’s right before you crack open your Bible. Just take a few moments and ask the Lord to help prepare your heart to take in and receive the Word.

You and I both have a long way to go, but even these small steps are part of what God uses to grow us up into mature followers of Jesus Christ.