If you do not pray to understand truth, your hands are tied behind your back, your eyes are closed, and you are hard of hearing. And then there are the serious obstacles.
In previous posts we learned that God leads even the newest believer into truth through three divine guides: the inerrant Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the church. Today we add one more crucial guide into truth, which I did not identify earlier and which will bring us to four guides into truth. This fourth guide is prayer. These four guides, used in harmony, enable even the newest believer to know the truth with confidence.
What do you do when you do not understand a Bible verse, or a biblical doctrine? Is your first reaction to reach for a book that might explain it to you? Do you google the question? Do you ask someone such as a pastor or Bible scholar about it?
Or is your first reaction to pause and pray that God would give you understanding into that Scripture or doctrine? And if the question is significant enough to you, do you write out your question in your prayer journal?
What you do reveals what you truly believe about the role of prayer in understanding truth. It reveals what you believe in your heart of hearts about whether God will answer your prayers for understanding into theological truths.
Prayer is the fourth guide into truth, along with the Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and the church.
Psalm 25
Psalm 25:4–5 says, “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.” (ESV)
Here David prays that God would lead him into the truth. What is theology? What is doctrine? It is truth about God and his ways; it is truth about spiritual things. You can and should ask God to be your teacher. No one can teach you about God better than God himself.
Of course he will typically teach you through others, but by being careful to ask him to lead you into theological truths you ensure he is in charge of the entire process. If you pray, he will bring the teachers, videos, books, and teachings to you that answer your prayer.
Six reasons why prayer is an essential guide into truth
1. God teaches the humble.
Psalm 25:9 says, “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”
Prayer is an act of humility and dependence. Therefore we can conclude he leads and teaches those who pray for understanding.
Next week we look at the second reason why prayer is an essential guide into truth.