After addressing how we are to speak to God in prayer over the past four questions, the catechism now turns to the other chief spiritual disciplines: the intake of Scripture, hearing and reading the Word of God.

Don Whitney rightly calls it Scripture intake because, while we often only think of reading the Bible, hearing Scripture is just as essential. Indeed, for most of history, God’s people have encountered His Word by hearing it read aloud to them.

The answer here is rich, and we can profit from considering it piece by piece.

First, we should approach God’s Word with diligence, giving it the best of our attention and effort, for it is nothing less than the voice of God speaking to us, His people. When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, He commanded Israel to consecrate themselves before He appeared to them. In the same way, we ought to come before Scripture with reverence and readiness.

We would not appear before a king or a president unprepared and careless. But to read or hear the Bible is to come into the presence of the King of Kings. Of course, God does not now require specific outward formality, but we are required to come with an inward attentiveness. We must come before Him with prepared hearts.

We must also come in preparation and prayer. The verse that is paired with this question is 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The fourfold profitableness is a wonderful pattern for preparing our hearts to read or hear the Scriptures.

Before opening the Bible, we should pray in thanksgiving that this is indeed His God-breathed Word. Then we can pray: “Lord, teach me what You want me to know about You, about myself, and about Your creation. Show me where my heart is wrong. Expose my sin. Let your Word discern the thoughts and intentions of my heart.”

The fourth purpose is training in righteousness. The Greek word for training is paideia, which means education, formation, or enculturation. It describes the process of being shaped from immaturity to maturity. We do not want to be formed by the world’s culture but by the righteousness of God.

Thus, we come to Scripture prayerfully, asking to be taught, corrected, and educated by the Spirit through the Word.

We must also receive the Word of God with faith, believing that it truly is God’s Word. We do not come to Scripture as its judges, deciding whether or not it is trustworthy; we are to come as servants who are ready to hear and obey.

We must also store it in our hearts. Our engagement with Scripture should not end whenever we close its pages. We must memorize and meditate over it so that it remains with us, guiding and strengthening us throughout the day.

Finally, we must live out what we read. The purpose of Scripture is not mere intellectual knowledge; it is life transformation. Let us, therefore, come to the Word of God with diligence, preparation, and prayer. Let us receive it with faith, store it in our hearts, and practice it with our lives, that we may be fully equipped for every good work.