Getting to Know God Part 2

Let’s dig a little deeper into making our devotional time with God more meaningful, beneficial, or impactful. As mentioned in the previous article, talking to God in prayer is a necessary part of our personal quiet time each day. Prayer should definitely bookend our search of the Scriptures, and has a place throughout our meeting with the Lord as well.

The purpose of approaching God in prayer at the outset of any reading of the Bible comes from the very fact that the Book is His Book. By God’s Holy Spirit we have received the very words that God intended for us, without error, in the Bible (2 Peter 1:21). It is God’s Holy Word, bearing His perfect character (2 Timothy 3:16). We come to God and ask Him to reveal the truth of His Word to us by His Holy Spirit. It is the author that can illumine our minds to understand the spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). So coming to know God and what God has for us is a spiritual exercise, and not simply an intellectually one.  

In addition to prayer, and the subsequent matter of reading and setting our minds upon the Word of God by God the Holy Spirit. We can take the following steps in the study of the Word of Truth to ascertain the correct meaning of any given text (2 Timothy 2:15).

1) Context
 - Read all the chapter(s) surrounding a verse(s).
   Finding the theme of a book can be helpful as well (a Study Bible is useful - i.e. Ryrie, Scofield, etc.)
- Look at a Bible Dictionary (i.e. Holmans) to explore the cultural or historical setting.
- Also consider making a Word Study using a Bible Concordance (i.e. Strongs, Youngs)

2) Related Texts
- This is called cross-referencing (sometimes you have a center reference Bible or i.e. Treasury of Scripture Knowledge)

3) Comments on the Text
- Commentaries are a wonderful tool to compare what you have learned by study. Sometimes it confirms what you have thought, gives clearer insight, or it may be that you disagree with the commentator. (i.e. Bible Knowledge Commentary)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15