Prayer with Bible Study
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
The Word is alive because it is spiritually discerned and the Spirit only speaks what he hears. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:13). From these two verses we can consider reading the Word as conservation with the Lord.
Once I understood what made the Word alive, I started inviting the Lord into my Bible study. I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me (Proverbs 8:17). Now I find it essential to invite the Lord into my study as he reveals new and deeper understanding of his Word. Reading and studying scripture is a necessity in my ministry but it also desirable and exciting.
Start your Bible study with a prayer thanking the Lord for being with you and for his Word. As you read ask for divine understanding and for what he wants you know from the scripture. These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (! Corinthians 2:10). If we read the Word seeking the Lord’s understanding, he will reveal the deep things of God. It’s like having Bible study with the Lord sitting next to you and you can ask him any question you desire.
The more we read the Word, the more we know the language of God, the more we listen intently with a strong desire to know the scriptures, and the more we will hear the thoughts that the Lord places in our minds. Hearing the Lord becomes more natural the more we pray and the more we are still inside and listen. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10). Be still inside to hear the Lord and the Bible study will have deeper meaning. Whenever you hear thoughts from the Lord, be sure to thank him with a heart of joy.
Today when reading scripture invite the Lord into your study, and also invite the Lord into your day for guidance and wisdom. Christ lives in the believer but we must commune with him so we can walk in his guidance. As we commune with Lord we become one with the Lord.
Lord thank you for living in me and making the Word truly alive to me. Help me to carry your Word in my heart because it is the power that touches the heart of others. In Jesus name, Amen