When the Bible speaks of the “Word” of God He speaks using scripture. It’s called Logos which is the principle of divine reason.
There’s also another word not many hear about it is Rhema. Rhema is a specific word that addresses the need of the hearer. It is about one if those times when God speaks directly to your heart.
Sometimes when my pastor does a sermon part of what he’s teaching I know is just for me. As if I’m the only one in the room. It also can happen when we are reading the Bible and thoughts jump off the page at us that answer our question, confirm your faith, or rebuke our sin, it encourages us to trust Jesus or simply blesses the situation we are in. It’s light the proverbial light bulb that lights up in our heads.
When God speaks, He is not talking idly. His words have a purpose. In the beginning, He spoke the world into existence, He spoke to Abraham and Abraham believed Him and became the “father of faith.”
The Word of God is powerful, not because of literature or because it is loved by God’s people, but because He wrote it and uses it to talk to us. 2 Peter 1:21 says,
“For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.”
It’s the Rhema word that changes the lives of those who believe it and continue to read it.
“For the word of God is giving and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” – Hebrews 4:12
This is why I keep reading it, studying it, never assuming I know it all. Every time I read it, I get different insight in what God is saying. When God speaks to me it’s not an academic exercise or a theological project. I hear Him in my heart.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the shower and bread to the eater, so shall my Word be that goes from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it“ – Isaiah 55:10-11
From Pity to Praise 