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It is really awesome to know that each one of us can have a personal relationship with God. The creator of the heavens & earth Jesus, always taught his disciples by his own example. How prayer was so important in this relationship.
Prayer is defined as communication with God which includes listening to his word. Worshipping, adoring and petitioning him, as well as confessing sin.
Just as we tell God what we want him to hear, in our prayers, similarly God has told us what we need to know in his word.
Therefore God expects equal importance to both prayer & Bible study.
2 Samuel 22:31
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
The only flawless thing on earth is God's word since it was no error we can trust it completely.
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
The psalmist inspired by God's spirit writes that God's word is a light for his path in times of confusion, God's word provides a way out.
Ephesians 1:16-17
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Paul is inspiring the church in Ephesus. Saying that he was praying to God to give the spirit of wisdom & revelation to the disciples to know him better every time.
We study God's word we need to begin with a plea to God to give us wisdom to under stand his word & interpret it correctly.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
God considers a man blessed if he delights in his law & meditates on his word it is necessary not only to read God's word, but to 'meditate' on it, to find the deeper truths & inspiring insights.
Acts 17:10-11
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
God considered the Bereans noble because they examined the scriptures daily. We will not be confused about the truth, nor will we doubt any thing if we gain confidence from examining God's scripture.
Acts 8:27-28
27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
Acts 8:34
The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
The Ethiopian eunuch who was an important official was reading God's word even after he had finished his worship.
He was willing to ask questions to Philip when he did'nt undertand.
He was humble enough. It is very important that we ask our leaders the true meaning of the scriptures when we don't understand them, rather than giving our own interpretation.
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
When we watch our doctrine closely and live our lives accordingly, salvation comes to both us & the people we speak to.
2 Peter 3:16
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
God warns us never to distort his word or use it for our own convenience as destruction awaits anyone who attempts to do so.
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