“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 KJV)
Our Lord Jesus made a very significant statement when Satan came to tempt Him in the wilderness. He made this statement to point to us the importance and the significance of the word of God. He emphasised this by saying “it is written”. So what is the significant of the word “it is written”?
Well the significance can be seen from the fact that He overcame Satan by constant declaration of the word of God, telling him (devil) that “it is written”. I believe that Jesus has shown to us here how to use the word of God to address every difficult situation in our life. If a Christian fails to follow this step in prayer whenever challenges arise, then he is probably not wise enough. This is one reason why we need to study our bible always.   
 
“...Man shall not live by bread alone”
Food (refers to here as bread) is so essential that man cannot live without it. Food nourishes and strengthens our body. Jesus realised the importance of food in human life, yet He rejected the bread of Satan and pointed it out to us that “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God”. He stressed the importance of the word of God again in Luke 10:38-42 when He visited Mary and Martha in their home. Martha was busy with food preparation for the Lord and Mary sat at His feet listening to his word. He told Martha straight away that Mary has chosen the good part and shall not be taking away from her.
So why is the word of God so important that we must live by it every day?
The answer is so enormous but I will explain just a few. First, word of God is a spiritual food that nourishes our spirits just as physical food nourishes our body.
 
     “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life ”(John 6:63 KJV).
 
 If as a Christian, we fail to feed on the word of God, we would be stunted spiritually. This means that we would be devoid of spiritual stamina. Daily study and meditation on the word of God and living by them is the only cure to loss of spiritual stamina, and (or) spiritual emaciation. Unfortunately, many Christians are unaware that they are spiritually emaciating. But if a Christian finds it very difficult to read the bible, or if he finds it very hard to pray, then he’s shown a sign of spiritual emaciation.
 
Secondly, the word of God is a light. David said “thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”(Psalm 119:105). Light throws darkness out whenever it comes and lay bare everything hiding in the dark. If a Christian fails to familiarise himself with the word of God, he would certainly be groping in darkness while claiming to be a child of the light. Many things from the dark world will present themselves to him as light and he will accept the so. To such a fellow, fornications will seems to him as a way of life, adultery will only be to him as just extra-marital affairs, pornography, lies and pride may be meaningless. These are just a few things that the world (darkness) presents to us as light. However, if we learn to soak ourselves in the word of God, then all these satanic strategies which aim at sending our soul to hell will be clearly open unto us and we can avoid them.
 
The third reason for living by the word of God on a daily basis is that the word of God is a food for both spiritual and secular wisdom (Prov 2:6, Psalm 119:98). Remember that God is wiser than any man. Therefore, if we need wisdom, it will be good to familiarise ourselves with the owner and giver of wisdom on daily basis. The scripture specifically tells us that if we need wisdom we should ask the Lord (James 1:5).
 
Finally and most importantly, we need to know the God we serve. The only way we can actually know Him is by studying his word. We know somebody by what he says about himself or by what people say about him. The bible comprises of what God says about himself and what many men of God of old say about Him (2Tim 3:16). So, if we truly want to know who God is, then it is important to study his word frequently and live by them.
 
It should be noted however that studying the word of God alone without putting them into practice is an exercise in futility. We actually eat the word of God by believing in them and acting upon them. If for instance, the scripture says “put away from you all angers” but you fail to see anger as a sin that you must run away from, then the word is not dwelling in you. But if you have a cause to be angry and you remember the the word of God and obeyed it by saying to yourself, I refuse to be angry on this issue, then the spirit of God living in that word is actually dwelling in you.
 
 
If you are reading this Christian devotion but have not giving your life to Jesus Christ, then please do so today. Begin effective study of the bible today (2Tim 2:15) and start living by the word of God. Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I thank you for dying because of me on the cross. I have made up my mind to follow you, please forgive me of all my sins and accept me today. I have come to you today, please be my Lord and saviour. Come into my life and save my soul. I will serve you and obey you; please help me. Thank you, Jesus, for answering my prayer.

Thank you father in the name of Jesus (amen).