Before you study the word of God, you should always begin with prayer. This step must NOT be skipped. It plays a vital part in ushering in the presence of God and defeating any plans the devil might have to distract you.
Your Prayer should contain these 4 effective key points.
1. Pray for Guidance
Asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the will of God for your life so you can make godly and wise decisions. Not only knowing the will of God for your life, but through the studying of His word, God gives you the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to learn of Him, retain what you have learned about Him, and apply what has been revealed to you to so you can discern God’s plan for your life.
If you lack wisdom, you should ask God, he is generous in giving those who asked ( James 1:5).
Many people become discouraged when attempting to read the Bible because they don’t understand what they read. To understand God’s word, you must first ask him to open your heart so that you can receive what he has for you through his word, and to remove any blockage or hindrance. Distraction has a lot to do with what we can take in and comprehend. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are also very important because you cannot rely solely on what you think the scripture is saying. The Bible is filled with mysteries that can only be unlocked when the spirit reveals it to you.
Wisdom — is the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.
Wisdom is a gift from God.
Knowledge — is information gained through experience or reasoning. Knowledge can exist without understanding, but wisdom cannot exist without knowledge. You can be knowledgeable without being wise, but you cannot be wise without being knowledgeable. Having Knowledge means to “know”, to know about God and what He expects of you.
Then there is understanding. Understanding is the ability to comprehend and apply the knowledge that you have about something.
2. Pray for Truth (James 8:32)
Knowing the truth of God is what is going to make you free…free from the baggage of sin…free from hurt…free from the lies of the enemy…free to accept God as your Lord and Savior, and to believe he created you because he loves you.
There are times when the reason why people feel so betrayed, hurt, and alone is simply a lie that someone told them. The Bible clearly states that people who do not tell the truth are not free and their father is the devil because he is the father of all lies (John 8:44). To be truly free, you have to ask God to reveal His truth to you through his word and prayer.
3. Pray For Insight (1 Cor 2:10)
Insight into the word of God is having a revelation through the Holy Spirit to your spirit. Having an insight into the word of God enables you to see below the surface — to get to the meat of the word and truly understand what the scripture means – what wants you to know. Some don’t understand the scriptures because there is no revelation by God to them and that could be they haven’t truly indulged in the deepness of the word. To get to that level of understanding you have to read the context in which it was written: who was the original recipient, why was it written, where was it written, and how is it related to you or your current situation? Insight can only come from God; He will give it if you ask him for revelation into His word.
4. Pray For Application (James 1:22-25)
Application is what seals everything. It is like the final ingredient to hold a cake together preventing it from falling apart. (James 1:22-25) states that if one reads the word of God and fails to do what it says deceives oneself because applying what you read is just as important as reading it. Failing to apply the word of God to your life is disobeying God and there won’t be any changes to your life.
The Bible is compared to a commonly found item in the home, a mirror. Both show the reflection of who we are, but the difference is that a mirror shows your outward appearance, and the Bible when read reflects from the inside out. The Bible will reveal what no one else sees but God, It reveals the real self—the self that no one else gets to see or know—the self that hides behind a smile—the self that cries when no one else is watching—the self that is alone at night—the single mother who is struggling to make ends meet and raise her children by herself—the high school/ college drop-out—the widow who yearns for the comfort of her husband—the wife who stayed with her abusive husband because of her children; God sees it all and you shouldn’t be afraid that he sees it all because he will not judge you, he just wants to love and comfort you.
The mirror only reflects what we wish, but God reveals who we are and who he wants us to be. Don’t let fear prevent you from knowing who God is through his word, you will find yourself in him. To know Him is to study his word and allow it to change your heart.
Holy Spirit, help us to read your word, understand it, and apply it to our lives. We know nothing can be done without your intervention, so give us the ability to not only be hearers of your word but also doers in Jesus’ name.
Amen!
