Prayer and God's Word

What does prayer have to do with learning from the Bible?  After all, can't anyone who can read understand what the Bible says?  Well, yes.  We can all use the common definitions of words and understand grammar and sentence structure.  From that perspective, we can all understand what the Bible says in its most basic of meanings.

But there is a deeper level.  Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 2:14: "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."  In other words, there is the basic meaning, and then, there is the meaning that God's Spirit guides us to understand.

That is why Martin Luther, in the preface to the compilation of all his books in German, wrote this about how we read the Bible: "But kneel down in your little room and pray to God with real humility and earnestness, that he through his dear Son may give you his Holy Spirit, who will enlighten you, lead you, and give you understanding."

In other words, both Paul and Luther emphasize the need of God's Spirit to truly understand what the Bible teaches us about God.  This is why Luther sees prayer as vital to understanding God's Word.  The Christian prays for God's Spirit to help him or her understand what God intends through what is written.

So next time you prepare for any study of God's Word, it may be good to ask God to give you His Spirit, to guide you in understanding what God is saying through what you are reading.