Understanding with the HeartPrøve

As Abram journeyed with God, he learned that God knows how to keep His promises. As their friendship deepened, God revealed to Abram the true reason for His initial invitation: Companionship. He tells Abram in Genesis 15:1 (KJV) "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield , your exceedingly great reward." In other words, the real prize is ME! I have often missed the real prize in my own life, thinking that studying scriptures and hearing the Word of God was all about rehearsing and memorizing. I realized that it is possible to know a ton of verses without knowing God Himself. I searched God's promises and declared them over my life on a daily basis but I still couldn't pay my bills at the end of the month and my physical ailments worsened. I had a decision to make. Either I was going to decide that God's Word isn't true or I was going to find out where the shortage was within myself. Searching the Bible is a good thing, but I had to ask myself this question: What exactly am I searching for? My answer is not in a Bible verse. My answer is in the One Who breathed the inspiration into the writers of the Bible verse. Giving the proper attention to scripture is vital. Scripture is God's proven wisdom. But when I take scripture in, I must understand that every part of God's Word is to show me the intensions of His heart and to give me an invitation to the real prize: Companionship with Him.