63. Praying the Scriptures
R
Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed;
save me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.
Jeremiah 17:14O
NEof my first Bible teachers was a charming older woman
named Josephine. Josephine had been raised in Mississippi
during the Depression by a single mother who took in sewing to
support her small brood, so there was no money for extras.
But this wise mother did not consider extras important for her
children. She knew that if she could get the Word of God deep in
their spirits they would be equipped for life. That is why she paid
Josephine and her siblings a nickel apiece for every portion of Scrip-
ture they memorized. Nickels were precious in those days, but her
children’s ability to handle God’s Word was more precious.
So Josephine learned the words and phrases, and she was glad to
earn the money. But she did not develop a relationship with the
Lord.
Years later, after she was grown, she moved to New York City