Studying Your Bible – Part 2

I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. Psalms 119:14

Spend time in prayer before you study the Bible. Ask the Lord to cleanse you from all known sin and fill you with the Holy Spirit so that you’ll be in fellowship with Him during your study time. Again, the purpose of Bible study isn’t to get new revelations and new rules; it’s to build a relationship with the Author of the Bible. The Psalmist said, ‘How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word’ (v. 9). Sin doesn’t cancel your relationship with Christ, but it hinders your fellowship with Him. And you have to be in fellowship with Him to understand and apply His Word. So before you search the Scriptures, ask God to search your heart. Paul says, ‘The unspiritual self…can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit…Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion…’ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). It’s possible to read the same portion of Scripture many times, yet fail to see what God wants you to see until He ‘opens [your] eyes…’ (Psalms 119:18). Once that happens, your attitude toward Bible study will be transformed. Like a hungry man or woman at a table overflowing with good food, you’ll long for and relish God’s Word and your faith will grow. Like Paul said: ‘…No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined…what God has arranged for those who love Him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God by His Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you’ (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to grow in my Fellowship with You as I read Your Word and come to know more about You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen