Acts 2:37
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

The Word of God is a powerful force. It is not like the words of men, but it is carried by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds. When the Word of God speaks to our hearts, we should be prodded to action. The first instance is usually what leads to our salvation experience. Just as these men heard the Gospel message preached by Peter and desired to do something about it, each of us has to do something when we hear what Jesus did for us—dying on the cross to forgive our sins and give us eternal life. We either accept or reject the Spirit’s call to salvation.

But the Word of God pricks our hearts in many other ways. One verse can incite in us some new desire for service or giving. The examples in Scripture encourage us in our own walk with God. Wisdom abounds for any problem we might face. All these things can touch our hearts to know that God gave us His Word for these very reasons.

Often the Word of God convicts us of sin and encourages us to make changes in our lives—to put away former things that hinder our walk with God or are damaging to our testimony as Christians. We may be prodded that an attitude we had was wrong or our way of thinking was contradictory to God’s view on a matter. God may reveal to us that the path we are on is a dangerous one that will only lead to destruction.

The Word of God often pricks our heart simply based on revealing the traits and character of our mighty God and our precious Savior. His holiness and righteousness are laced throughout Scripture. His kindness and mercy decorate each page. The very existence of the Bible is evidence of God’s love to us. That should stir our hearts to worship Him and praise Him in humble adoration of all that He is and the special care that He has for each of us.

The Word of God is a living thing. It is alive in our hearts as we let it work in us to change us. It is not a static book to be read, enjoyed, and then forgotten. It is alive with God’s love and truth, and it stirs us to do something about what we read—to tell others, to stop doing something, to start doing something, to go somewhere, to say something, to bow our heads, to give, to love, to serve. It is a book that can affect us beyond a mere emotional or intellectual level and draw us into the intimate presence of our Lord.