And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Matthew 16: 17-18
It is no secret that the Bible can be a tricky book to study.
When we come across verses like the one above, sometimes we find ourselves completely stuck. What are we to do with a verse like this? Did Jesus really just say that I could drink deadly poison and not die? What does this mean?
Oftentimes we will turn to Bible teachers to give us some clarity on verses like this one in Matthew. Most of the time this gives us clarity and understanding, sometimes however, it plunges us into deeper confusion. Bible teachers don’t always agree on the interpretation of Scripture. How do we know which teacher to believe? Why are there so many different interpretations? Is it even possible to get to the truth?
There is a simple answer to why there are so many differing interpretations to Scripture and it is this: humans are fallible. Even the best and most learned Bible teachers can fall prey to taking Bible verses out of context, not considering what the verse meant to the original audience, reading the Bible with a “me-focus” instead of a “God-focus”, and reading their own meaning into the text. Human beings tend to be unwise, self-focused, and stubborn and all of this gets in the way of us understanding the truth of God’s Word.
But there is hope! When we understand and believe that there is one absolutely true interpretation to every text and that God earnestly desires for us to come to an understanding of that truth, we can approach God’s Word with confidence. Studying scripture is not a hopeless exercise that will only ever end in confusion. It is an earnest quest to become more like Jesus as God reveals His truth to us in His Word.
Never Alone
I love to remind myself that although it’s very important that we study God’s Word for ourselves, we are never by ourselves. This is our great hope! When we come to scripture with an earnest desire for the truth, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us to bring us to a right understanding of the text. Listen to what the Bible says:
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. – John 14:26
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. – John 16:13-15
Our Helper, the Holy Spirit, will declare God’s Word to us through the Scriptures and teach us all things. When we repent of our own foolishness, selfishness, and stubbornness and ask God to teach us through his Spirit, He is faithful to do just that.
I do want to note before moving forward that the Bible teaches us that God has specially gifted some people to be teachers and interpreters of Scripture (see 1 Cor. 12). It is good and right for us to sit at the feet of these people and learn from their expertise. There are going to be parts of the Bible that we won’t understand and we will need to seek out those who have spent their lives and careers studying the Bible to help us. That being said, it is important that we try to discern for ourselves what the Bible is saying first before we rely too heavily on other teachers. This way we can learn which teachers are trustworthy and Biblically accurate and which teachers are not. The Holy Spirit truly is our teacher and sometimes he teaches us through the words of other people.
God’s Power Through Our Prayers
True understanding of God’s Word through the teaching of the Holy Spirit is ours for the taking! We only need to ask!
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! – Luke 11:13
This is why the first and most important part of Bible Study is preparation through prayer. We need to come to a recognition that good Bible Study cannot be done on our own and we are completely dependent upon the Lord. We need to be in prayer before, during, and after we study in order for us to know and be changed by the truth of God’s Word.
The question then is not if we should pray in preparation for Bible study, but how we should pray. Knowing the condition of our own hearts and the sin we are apt to fall prey to is an important first step in coming to the Lord in prayer. With this in mind, I frequently follow the ACTS acronym for prayer before, during, and after Bible Study. My prayer then might look something like this:
- Adoration – I come before God with praise on my lips acknowledging His goodness in giving us His Word and focusing on the aspects of His character that become the lens through which I understand His Word.
- Confession – I confess my own stubbornness in believing what I want to believe even if it is contrary to what His Word says. I confess my own selfishness in trying to make the Bible a book about me instead of a book about Him. I confess how slow I am to love God’s Word and how quick I am to exchange the truth that is hard to swallow for a lie that makes me feel good. I repent and ask God to change my heart and not let my sin get in the way of my understanding of the truth.
- Thanksgiving – I thank God for His forgiveness. I thank Him for continuing to change my stubborn heart. I thank Him for sending Jesus to die on the cross for me, rise again, and cover me in His own righteousness. I thank Him for giving me His Word to encourage, teach, and change me. I thank Him for making a way for me to know and love the truth.
- Supplication – I ask the Holy Spirit for His help as I endeavor to study the Word. I ask for a teachable spirit and clarity on issues that might initially seem foggy. I ask Him to give me patience as I struggle through difficult texts. I ask Him to help me love His truth even when it’s sometimes hard to accept. I ask Him for eyes to see and apply the wisdom I find in scripture. I ask Him to bring me encouragement and strength for my day through his Word and I ask Him to change my heart through my studies so that it will look more like Jesus’s heart.
Praying His Word
Sometimes I come to my time of Bible Study feeling burdened and weighed down by the world and my sin. Other times I sit down with the purpose of studying the Bible even though I really don’t feel like doing it. When this happens, I often have a hard time finding the right words to pray. I can’t fully articulate how I’m feeling and I need some help putting my feelings into words and adjusting my attitude so that I am ready to study the Word of God. It’s during these times that I flip my Bible open to the Psalms and pray God’s Word back to Him.
I love to pray the Psalms when I’m feeling down, or can’t seem to find quite the right words to articulate how I’m feeling. The Psalms cover a wide range of emotions and circumstances that often verbalize the cries of my heart and I love to repeat these words back to my Heavenly Father. Here are a couple of Psalms that are particularly appropriate to pray before entering into Bible study:
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.Psalm 25:4-5
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.Psalm 19:7-11, 14
Another one of my favorite Psalms to pray is Psalm 119. This is the longest chapter in the Bible and thus too long to type here, but here are a few samples of the love of God’s Word as exhibited in Psalm 119.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.Psalm 119: 10 – 16
My soul clings to the dust;
give me life according to your word!
When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes!
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
Put false ways far from me
and graciously teach me your law!Psalm 119: 25 – 29
Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.Psalm 119:33-37
When we come to the Lord with our honest, heartfelt prayers and ask Him to reveal His truth to us through His Word, He is faithful to do so. Prayer is such a important first step to Bible study because it causes us to examine our hearts and beseech the Lord to change them. Prayer prepares our hearts and our minds to receive the truth through God’s Word. Then the Holy Spirit intercedes throughout our studies, teaching us the ways of the Lord and making His ways unimaginably sweet to us.
Click on the image below to download bookmarks that have several of the Bible verses listed above as well as some guidance to praying the ACTS prayer. Place them in your Bible or Bible study binder as reminders to keep praying throughout your study time.
Click here to go to How to Study the Bible Part 2: Researching the Context