Key 2: Study the Bible

Key 2: Study the Bible

It naturally  follows that  praying  to the  true  God involves believing what He says. And we find His words—instructing human  beings how they should live—in the Holy Bible. It reveals essential knowledge that we could not acquire in any other way. It is God’s “Instruction  Manual” for humanity. It tells us who God is, what He is like and how we ought to serve Him. In its pages we find God’s own instructions  as to how we ought to pray to Him.

But you will not receive this full instruction  by just “going to church”  or by carelessly reading  bits and pieces of the Bible for comfort or inspiration.  God commands us in His Word, ‘Earnestly study to show yourself approved to God, a workman unashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”  (2 Timothy  2:15, J.P. Green’s Literal Translation).

To know  God, to understand His will and to believe in His promises,  you need to regularly study His inspired  Word  in an orderly way—just as you might study a science textbook or a vol- ume on history. A good place to start is the book of Matthew—the first book in the New Testament. Read it through  slowly and care- fully—noting what Jesus actually said, paying particular  attention to the many examples of answered prayer.

It is beyond the scope of this booklet to thoroughly  prove the divine inspiration  of the Bible. But if you really want to, you can prove that  the  prophecies  given only in the  Bible have either already been fulfilled in literal detail in the past, or are now begin- ning to be fulfilled in this exciting end-time age in which we live. When you understand the detail and the breadth of these prophe- cies, you can see that  God practically  signed His name to the Bible—clearly showing that this book is of divine inspiration!  The Apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is given by inspiration  of God, and  is profitable  for doctrine,  for reproof,  for correction,  for instruction  in righteousness,  that  the man of God may be com- plete, thoroughly  equipped  for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

So when you read specific promises  in the Bible, ask for the Almighty to fulfill them in your life. When you see that Jesus and others asked for certain things, realize that this is an 

example for you to follow. In all your prayers, follow the example of Christ and the Apostles. Let your prayers be the same as theirs when you face similar trials and difficulties.

What about King David of Israel and the other great prophets of the distant past? Their heartfelt prayers and the awesome deliv- erance God granted  them  likewise instructs  us and bolsters our faith: “Now all these things  happened  to them  as examples, and they were written for our admonition,  upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians  10:11).

One of the reasons King David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)  is not  only that  he obeyed God, but  that  he walked  and  talked  with  Him and  constantly  worshiped  and adored Him. You will clearly see this  attitude  all through the Psalms: “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,  who stretch  out the heavens like a curtain.… I will sing to the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being” (104:1–2, 33).

Leaving behind the memorized, often meaningless, prayers of mainstream religion, begin to really study the teachings and exam- ples relating to prayer in your own Bible. Let the inspired Word of God teach you how to pray and what to ask for. And believe the teachings and the promises you find in that holy book.