Thursday, August 10, 2023
Preparing to Study His Word submitted by Kay Crumley
To grow in faith and intimacy with God, we must know Him. Just as we develop a friendship with anyone, we must spend time with them, learn their characteristics, and develop trust in them. That will enable us to know that we can put our faith in them to be our friend and to encourage us to become the person we desire to be. Spending time with God includes talking to Him in prayer, learning about Him from fellow believers, and studying His Word. We must develop a desire to know Him and then dedicate time to personal study of His Word, the inspired Words written in the Bible that is the instruction guide for our lives. Jesus taught, in John 14:26, that the Spirit is sent to teach us all things. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. To study His Word, we must first prepare our mind and heart to receive what He wants us to learn. To prepare we should begin with prayer. One effective way to do that is to pray scripture. I have listed a few verses from Psalms that will give us an idea of some prayers for understanding.
- Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18 - The psalmist is asking God to give him understanding, spiritual truth. Those truths are wonderful, beyond human ideas. We need understanding from His instruction.
- Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Psalm 119:33-34 - He is asking to know the laws/decrees God has given His children so that he can be fully committed to Him. He desires to be obedient to those laws. We must know His laws to obey them.
- Accept, LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. Psalm 119:108 - This verse focuses on the praise we offer Him. The amplified version expands that phrase this way “Accept and take pleasure in the freewill offerings of my mouth”. We want the Lord to take pleasure in the offerings we give that are of our own free will, not coerced, and that He will accept them as an offering, a gift. Then He will teach us His laws that we may be obedient.
- Make your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:135 - He wants to experience the wonder of God’s shining face, His presence, on him so that we can learn His perfect instructions. Try to think of the joy you feel when that most important person on earth looks at you with joy and pleasure. That is what this verse is asking - that God will be pleased with us in such a way as to share His most perfect instruction.
- I call with all my heart; answer me, LORD, and I will obey your decrees. Psalm 119:145 The psalmist is calling to God with every part of his being, his whole heart. He knows the truthfulness of God’s Word and that all His commands are established and can never fail. He is begging that God will answer his sincere plea. Then he promises to be obedient to God’s decrees/laws.
Challenge yourself to select one or some of these verses to pray to God to prepare you to be taught by His Word before you open your Bible. Allow the Holy Spirit who Jesus sent to be our Advocate teach you things you’ve never considered before. An advocate is one who pleads for another's cause, who helps another by defending or comforting him. Often, we don’t even know how to pray or what we need to learn from His Word as we study. Yet, because we have accepted His free gift of salvation, we have the ultimate Advocate living in us ready to plead our cause to the Father. Praying for understanding allows the Advocate to open our eyes of understanding to the mysteries of the Bible that are hidden from those without Him living in their lives. Take advantage of this gift of understanding as you pray for His Word to be alive in your heart.
