I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me.

“I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me.” Thus spoke Dwight L. Moody, the humble American evangelist whose voice once stirred the souls of thousands across the great cities of the nineteenth century. In this brief and shining truth lies a wisdom both simple and profound — a declaration not of theology, but of experience. Moody’s words remind us that the power of the Bible is not proven through debate or doctrine, but through the living flame it kindles within the heart. For he saw that the truest evidence of divine inspiration is not found in parchment or ink, but in the transformation of the soul.

Moody was no scholar in the worldly sense. Born poor, self-taught, and unschooled in philosophy, he came to faith not through argument, but through encounter. When he read the Scriptures, he did not analyze them as a critic, but absorbed them as a thirsty man drinks water. And what he found there — mercy, forgiveness, and the call to love — ignited a fire that would guide his every breath. To him, the inspiration of the Bible was not a theory to be proven, but a reality to be lived. It inspired him to act, to serve, to believe that even the most broken life could be renewed by the power of divine grace.

When Moody said, “It inspires me,” he spoke of something deeply human — the awakening that occurs when the soul hears truth spoken in its own language. He knew that one could read many books and be entertained, enlightened, or informed, but the Bible alone changes a person. It does not simply speak to the mind; it reaches the heart, the conscience, the secret places of the spirit. Its words, old as time, breathe new life into the weary and lift the fallen from despair. This, Moody believed, was the mark of inspiration — that it moves the heart to goodness, that it turns conviction into compassion.

Consider the story of John Newton, the ship captain who once trafficked in human misery, selling men and women into slavery. One night, caught in a terrible storm, he cried out to the God he had long ignored. The words of Scripture — half-remembered from childhood — came back to him: “He who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” From that moment, his life began to change. He turned from slave trader to servant of mercy, becoming the author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” What was it that transformed him? Not mere guilt or fear, but inspiration — the living voice of God speaking through the words of the Bible, kindling repentance, courage, and redemption.

Moody’s declaration also carries a deeper humility. He does not claim to prove the Bible to others, for faith cannot be forced. He simply bears witness to what it has done within him. In this, he echoes the ancient mystics and prophets who spoke not from authority, but from experience. When Moses descended from the mountain, his face shone not because he understood divine law, but because he had met the Divine. So too did Moody’s face reflect the light of what he had encountered — a book that became more than a book, a voice that became life itself.

And yet, Moody’s message reaches beyond religion. For what he teaches is that truth reveals itself through transformation. The test of any belief, any philosophy, any word claimed to be sacred, is this: does it awaken love? Does it call forth courage? Does it lift the human soul from despair toward purpose? If it does, it bears the touch of the eternal. Inspiration, in this sense, is the breath of God moving through the frailty of human language — a divine whisper that teaches the heart to hope again.

So, O children of faith and seekers of light, take this lesson to heart: do not read the sacred words as scholars alone, but as pilgrims seeking fire. Let the Scripture not rest upon the page, but rise within you. Let it teach you to forgive when anger burns, to give when greed tempts, to love when the world grows cold. In this way, you too will know what Moody knew — that the Bible is inspired, not because others say it is holy, but because through it, you become holy.

For in the end, Moody’s truth stands like a lamp in the darkness: inspiration proves itself in what it creates. The Word of God is alive not in arguments, but in transformed lives — in the kindness that heals, the faith that endures, and the hope that will not die. And if ever you doubt the divine, look not to the heavens for signs, but into your own heart, rekindled by love. For when you feel that fire, you will understand what Moody meant — that the Bible inspires because it breathes the very breath of God.