3 Women Who Were Grateful for God’s Word

This episode contains portions from the following programs:

"How Much Is the Bible Worth?"

"The Ten Boom Room"

"Mary Was a Humble Woman"

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Dannah Gresh: Let me tell you about a time when I was especially grateful for God’s Word.

My grandbabies were in the NICU, and I didn't know what to do but pray. So I snuck away to the cafeteria. I felt hopeless. I felt drained. I felt tired. I was watching my son and daughter-in-law pray for a miracle.

Then, I opened the Word, and I felt strong. I felt safe, and I felt held. I knew because I was putting my hope in the words I was reading in that book that I was going to be okay and my family would be okay. Maybe the circumstances weren't going to be the way I wanted them to be. But we were going to be held in the truth of God's Word and God's love.

Have you ever experienced the Word of God changing your emotions like that?

I’m your host, Dannah Gresh, and you’re listening to Revive Our Hearts Weekend. 

Today we’re talking about three women who were grateful for God’s Word. They didn’t leave it sitting on their desk or nightstand. They didn’t have to dust it off. No, they picked it up regularly to soak in it. They treasured it. They lived like it was true—even if they only had one page to call their own.

That was true of the first woman we’re learning about today. Her name is Margaret Nikol. Margaret was born into a pastor’s family in Bulgaria under one of the most repressive Communist regimes. If anyone had a Bible in their home, they knew they could be punished severely or even killed. Margaret herself just had one page of the Bible. Margaret’s family suffered greatly during this time of anti-Christian persecution. Eventually, her parents and brother would give their lives for the gospel.

Despite the pressure and persecution, Margaret was able to attend some of the best schools and become a professional violinist. In her mid-thirties, she escaped to the United States, where she gave violin concerts and shared the gospel with all who would listen.

In the United States, Margaret Nikol also received her very first Bible—this time, the whole thing. Here she is to tell her story. 

Margaret Nikol: When I came here [to the United States], I had two most prized possessions: I had my violin, and I had one page from God’s Bible—only one page. Probably you would ask me why didn’t I buy myself a Bible. In our country, we did not have it.

The Communists took power, and they confiscated God’s Word from churches, and hymnals. They went to houses and confiscated the Bibles available in our country. How did I get my page? A lady from our church, she was reading her Bible one night, and she overheard when the police came talking at the door to her husband that they wanted to confiscate her Bible. And she thought, “No, never my Bible,” and she sat on it.

And they looked for hours in her house, everywhere, but not under her skirt; and there was the Bible. Then she came to church and tearing it page, by page, by page, she shared with us her Bible with tears in her eyes. With all respect to God’s Word, Pastor Woodall, I was so happy I didn’t get one from the Numbers. I had a very good page—Genesis 16 and 17. The promise of God to give Abraham and Sarah a son.

And here I was in this country, and it was close to Christmas when I came. The second Sunday when I went to the same very small church, next to me sat an old couple. It turned out they were German immigrants after the first World War. So, we able to communicate in German, and I told them I am ten days in America.

I was so excited when they said, “We would like to give you a Christmas present. What would you like?” Probably they thought I would say, “Let’s go shopping till we drop.” I didn’t. Do you know why? Because I was twelve when I got my page [of the Bible] and for twenty-five years I prayed, “Lord, I so want to have your Word.”

And when they asked me, I said, “If possible, I would like to have a Bible.” They said, “Oh, honey, this is America; Bibles are available. You can have it.” So the next morning they came, and they brought me to the Bible bookstore. And can you picture me—the woman with one page for her entire life—getting into that Bible bookstore and seeing all the shelves—black, blue, green, brown, and red Bibles.

I stood there in the middle of that bookstore and wept and cried. I couldn’t believe that after so many years, prayers God will answer. I got a Bible and hugged it to my chest; and I wept, and I wept. My friends, it was joyful, and then it became sorrow. First I thought of my brother. He was a pastor in Bulgaria, having a fifteen hundred-people church and preached from couple of pages copied by his own hand, and so were the others. No Bibles.

And I said, “But Lord, what about them? What about them? If they could all come here, and You could send Bibles.” That is why I so respect all the missions, Brother Andrew and the others, who smuggled Bibles, but they couldn’t smuggle for all of us. I made the covenant with God that day. And I said, “Father, I am not the man; I am not the preacher; I am not the teacher; I am not the evangelist; I am a musician and a woman on top of that. What can You do with my life? But You have it.”

And I thank God that He never looks for able people. He looks for available people. I thank Him for that. The first three and a half years I was in a quandary. I didn’t know what to do. I was professor of music and gave concerts, and then the call came, and I gave up everything and started traveling to raise funds for Bibles.

In 1993 I was in Bulgaria, back with 10,000 Bibles printed in the country—this very same Bible. The pastors of that country had their first conference in freedom. In that hall when I entered with the Bibles, and with my hand started giving each pastor their first Bible. The joy and the tears and the gratefulness of their hearts, and the prayers which went for you, for the American Christians who send them the Bibles.

And on their behalf, I would like to thank you. I would like to thank you as Christians. At the same token I would like to challenge you. Any time you take your Bible for granted, I pray that the Holy Spirit will remind you of this page, because it represents not only Margaret Nikol. No, millions of your brothers and sisters around the world are still on their knees praying for God to send them His Word.

For me, the most sinful corners in every church I have been in and seen is lost and found. Do you know why? The most lost items are never looked for are the Bibles. That is how much we appreciate them. And I challenge you tonight to cherish your Bible, to thank God in our country we can go to bookstores, anywhere, and in such abundance to get God’s Word.

Dannah: Margaret Nikol, on cherishing God’s Word. Because she had only one page of Scripture for so many years, Margaret was overwhelmed with gratitude when she finally held the full book in her hands. But what about you and me? Are we quick to view God’s Word as something ordinary? Here in the United States, where we can grab Bibles off just about any bookstore shelf—well, it’s easy to forget what a rare blessing it is. 

I hope Margaret’s story encourages you to marvel at God’s Word afresh. And I hope it inspires you to pray for those brothers and sisters all over the world who are being persecuted, who are longing to hold even just one page of Scripture in their hands.

One of these places of persecution is North Korea—also known as “The Hermit Country.” It’s closed off from the rest of the World and the gospel, and it’s ruled by a dictator who desires all worship for himself.

Today, there is only a 2 percent Christian population in this dark and hidden place, and these believers have been forced underground. That’s because praying, owning a Bible, and believing in the gospel can lead to imprisonment, torture, or even execution. And get this—a believer’s entire family could face imprisonment or death due to one person’s faith. So when you embrace the gospel, you’re not just putting your life on the line, you’re risking the lives of every person you love most.

That’s heavy stuff. You know, I’d love for us to take some time—right here, right now—to pray for these brothers and sisters in North Korea. They could be tortured for praying for reading God’s Word, but we’re free to do these things. So let’s go to God on their behalf.

First, let’s pray that these precious believers would have the opportunity to gather as the church. Let’s pray that the gospel would spread to their friends and neighbors, and that God’s miraculous protection would cover them. Would you take a moment—you yourself—to take a quiet moment to pray in your head or if you are in a private place to pray outloud over these things now?

[Time for prayer]

Next let’s pray that the North Korean believers would have access to God’s Word—that it would fill them with strength, comfort, and delight, even in one of the darkest places on earth.

[Time for prayer]

Finally, let’s pray some Scripture over the North Korean church together.

Father, You have said that You bless the righteous. That You cover them with favor like a shield. We ask that You would cover the North Korean believers with favor as they seek to live for You in a land that is hostile to the gospel.

You’ve also said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Would You continually remind these brothers and sisters that Your kingdom—eternity with You—is their inheritance. That these afflictions are momentary, that You’re preparing them for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Fill them with courage as they remember this truth: those who share in Christ’s sufferings will also join Him in His resurrection. One day they will worship freely before Your throne, and it will be glorious. Let us not forget our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, because we’re united to them through Christ Jesus. Sustain them as they persevere for the sake of the gospel. In the name of our precious Savior, Jesus, Amen.

If you’re interested in learning more about the church in North Korea, I’d encourage you to visit Radical.net. That’s where we found the statistics and prayer points shared today.

You know, on this same topic, I’m thinking about one of my personal heroes of the faith who suffered intense persecution for obeying God. Over on True Girl, my podcast for girls and their moms, Staci Rudolph read this woman’s story to us—and wow, it just doesn’t get old. I’ll let Staci introduce her to you.

Staci Rudolph: Well, as you know, today I’m reading the final book you have in the Do Great Things for God series by The Good Book Company, and the story is about Corrie ten Boom. 

Dannah: Such a great name.

Staci: For sure. Well, Corrie’s dad was a clockmaker. Corrie lived from 1892 to 1983. The title of this book is Corrie ten Boom: The Courageous Woman and the Secret Room by Laura Caputo-Wickham, and it was illustrated by Isabel Muñoz. 

Dannah: Okay, let’s hear it.

Staci: Here we go with our final story in this series.

Corrie ten Boom lived in a higgledy-piggledy house, surrounded by family, friends and LOTS of clocks.

There were tall clocks,
tiny clocks,
fancy clocks,
and funny clocks.

And Father, the finest clockmaker in the Dutch city of Haarlem, knew how to fix them all!

Corrie’s family met together every day to read the Bible.

“You are my hiding place and my shield,” read Father one day. “I hope in your word” (Psalm 119:114).

Corrie sat there, wondering, “Why would anybody need a hiding place?”

The answer came many years later.

Dannah: Ooo, God was planning to use that Scripture to give Corrie strength later on in her life, huh?

Staci: You got it! I love how God does that. He gives us things now that we’re gonna need later on. He’s always taking care of us.

Corrie was sleeping in her room when a loud BANG! woke her up. As she looked outside, she saw brilliant flashes followed by booming explosions.

“War,” she whispered.

It was indeed war. A big one, called World War Two. Countries were fighting, and people were bullied and killed for how they looked or talked or where they came from.

Some of these people were Jews. They were chased by the soldiers and put into horrible prison camps where many died.

As Corrie watched this happening, she prayed a very brave prayer. “Lord Jesus, I give myself for the Jewish people. In any way. Any place. Any time.”

And just as with every prayer prayed by a follower of Jesus, this too was heard.

Dannah: There it is again, Staci, another woman committing her life to serve God! So incredible!

Staci: It sure is.

Soon, Corrie found herself part of a top-secret group that helped to hide as many Jews as possible.

She had to cycle to secret meetings in the middle of the night, and hide important documents in her father’s clock shop. She even had a secret room built inside her bedroom!

Dannah: So that’s the “ten boom room”!

Staci: Uh huh.

Hundreds of Jews came and went from her house, as Corrie helped them to find a safer home.

Every so often, they had practice drills. They would pretend that the soldiers had arrived, and everybody had to hide in less than one minute! Then, one night, the soldiers came, and this time it was not a drill.

Loud, angry men searched every corner of the house, slamming doors, kicking chairs, and tipping things over. But they didn’t find the secret room. Corrie and her family, though, were taken to prison.

Dannah: That sounds so scary. Corrie went to prison just like Helen Roseveare—the lady we read about last week!

Staci: Right. Wait until you hear how God helped her get through it, Dannah. Let’s keep reading. 

Life in the prison camp was terrible. Corrie had to work in the freezing cold. She had to sleep in beds full of lice, and all she had to eat was cold, gloopy food. 

It could have been easy for Corrie to feel completely and utterly hopeless. But she didn’t.

God always made sure that Corrie had a Bible, which she hid under her clothes. Whenever she read it, she found hope and courage.

She learned to forgive even when it was hard, and to find joy in the small things—even the lice!

Dannah: Wait a minute, hold it, Staci. The lice? She found joy in the lice?

Staci: Yeah, because of the lice, the guards didn’t want to come near her quarters, and she was able to read her Bible freely. 

Dannah: Oh, okay. Now I understand.

Staci:

Soon, other prisoners joined Corrie and her sister, Betsie, in reading the Bible and praying. Many of them trusted in Jesus as their King.

Dannah: Wow. Only God could have helped Corrie forgive people who did such terrible things to her and her family. 

Staci: I want to be able to forgive like that! 

Dannah: Me, too, Staci. I see now how that Scripture she heard when she was younger about God being a hiding place was meaningful to her in that prison camp. 

Staci: Yep!

Corrie’s trust in God gave her the strength to go on until the day she was finally free to go home.

From then on, Corrie talked about her life to big crowds, saying, “There’s no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”

Corrie knew that very well. The End

Dannah: I love that story. Corrie ten Boom’s life gives me courage to live for Jesus no matter what. I’m amazed at how Corrie gave thanks for lice-infested prison quarters because these little bugs meant she could read God’s Word without being caught. I’m also in awe of how brave she was to host Bible studies in the middle of a Nazi prison camp, knowing this was punishable by death. This was a woman who was truly grateful for God’s Word. And her life reminds me that I should be, too.

Well, last but not least, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is going to share about one more woman who was grateful for God’s Word—Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Luke chapter 1, God tells her she’s going to give birth to the promised One, the Messiah, the Savior of the World. (Yeah, she knew that was a pretty big deal!) Beginning in verse 46, she breaks out into her very own song of praise—also known as The Magnificat. She’s marveling at the Word of God delivered straight to her and expressing the gratitude in her heart. To tell us more, here’s Nancy.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Mary said, “My soul magnifies.” 

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercies extend to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm (vv. 46–51).

Then you go down to verse 53,

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and to his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers (vv. 53–55).

So Mary launches out into this great hymn of praise, and that’s what I want you to notice—that Mary was a praising woman, a woman of worship, a woman who gave thanks to God and recognized that this was the work of God, and she was determined to magnify God.

In every circumstance of life—the good ones and the negative ones—we choose how we will respond. Some of you have heard me say before that basically we either worship or we whine. Mary, in the face of this great circumstance, is going to be a worshiper. She’s a woman of praise.

She’s a woman with a grateful spirit, and she expresses to God, in front of her cousin Elizabeth, her great praise and adoration of the Lord. She speaks words of prayer and praise and even music—song—to the Lord. Mary worships God through this passage for His wonderful acts, for His mercy, and for choosing her.

She’s just overwhelmed—humbled—that God would choose her and use her, and that sense of wonder finds itself flowing out of her life in praise. She’s conscious that this is something that God has done; that she’s a recipient of God’s grace and His mercy. It’s as if she can’t help it. What comes overflowing out of this full life is a song, a hymn of praise.

What comes overflowing out of your life when you experience the goodness, the grace, and the mercy of God?

Do you just go on as if nothing had happened?

Do you find yourself taking time to stop and say, “God is great. God is good, and I thank Him, I bless Him for His goodness”?

Praise was not just something that Mary felt inside, though she certainly did that, but it was something she expressed verbally so that others could hear it and be blessed. I know there are times in my own life when I feel thankfulness for the goodness of God, but so many times I just hurry on and don’t stop to say it, to say it to others, to say to the Lord, “You have been so good, and I worship You; I thank You.”

So let me ask these questions:

• Is your life characterized by a spirit of praise?
• Do you respond to the circumstances and challenges of each day by expressing gratitude for the greatness and the mercy of God, and do your responses give the world a proper opinion of God?
• As you respond to those circumstances, can the world hear what you say and be drawn to a God who is good and who is great—the God that you praise?

As we read this passage, we see something else about Mary, and that is that she was a woman of the Word. She was a woman of the Word. In Mary’s prayer that we’ve just read, there are at least twelve quotations from Old Testament Scriptures.

Now most of us, if pressed, would have a hard time in a prayer coming up—by memory—with a dozen Old Testament quotations to work into our prayer. But she used the Word of God, with which she was obviously very familiar, as a part of her worship, her prayer, and her praise. Those quotations are all woven together.

It’s not something that she had to say, “Now, wait a minute, let me go get my Bible so I can read a psalm of praise to the Lord.” That’s what I would probably have to do, but instead she knew these psalms. She knew these passages. They were imbedded in her heart. They were part of her thinking.

What makes this all the more remarkable is that Mary probably was not able to read. She probably did not have any kind of formal education as a young woman growing up in that culture, and furthermore, even if she had been able to read, she didn’t have a copy of the Old Testament at her house. She would have had to have heard the Word of God read at the synagogue as she had gone to worship, but she obviously loved the Word. She had listened to it. She had retained it.

How often do you and I sit in church and hear the Word of God being read and, just as if with glazed eyes, let it go over us—we’ve heard that, we’ve done that, we’ve seen that, we’ve been there, and it’s nothing remarkable to us—and we leave and maybe forget what we actually heard at all? In fact, I’ve had that experience in my own quiet time where I can read through chapters of the Scripture and don’t have a clue what it is I just read.

I see in Mary someone who listened to the Word of God attentively, who made it a part of her life, made it a part of her heart, and out of, then, the overflow of that Word, came this prayer as she prayed the Word back to God. Ladies, if we’re going to be used of God in our generation, we’ve got to become women of God’s Word, women who know the Word of God.

Dannah: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth on Mary’s song of praise. I don’t know about you, but I wanna be a woman like Mary—a woman who knows Scripture so well that I can sing it back to God at a moment’s notice, a woman so grateful for God’s Word that I just overflow with songs of praise. I want this for you too!

To be women of the Word, we’ve got to behold the wonder of the Word. To help you do that, our team has created a special calendar for 2026. It’s designed to help you reflect and meditate on Scripture through carefully-selected verses, inspiring quotes from Nancy, and beautiful graphics that will look lovely on your wall. But wait! There’s more! It also includes a daily reading plan, making it a practical tool to help you read through the Bible in a year with us starting in January. It’s yours when you make a donation of any amount to support Revive Our Hearts. To give and request your calendar, visit ReviveOurHearts.com. 

Well, get excited for next weekend because it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas over here at Revive Our Hearts. Oh yeah, I can’t wait to spend some time anticipating the upcoming advent season with you! We’re talking all about how to make the most of this season in your homes and with those you most love. 

Thanks for listening today. Have a happy Thanksgiving! I’m Dannah Gresh. We’ll see you next time, for Revive Our Hearts Weekend.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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