How to Invite the Holy Spirit into Your Bible Study
Above all, we have to invite the Holy Spirit into our Bible study. Let's acknowledge Him as the greatest Bible Teacher we will ever experience. It is the Holy Spirit who blesses us understanding, conviction, and peace. So invite Him in!
The Holy Spirit is our ever-present Helper. He lives within us; our body is His temple. So isn’t He a part of whatever we do? In a sense, yes. He is always present.
So what is meant by inviting the Holy Spirit to be a part of something we do, such as Bible study?
All of us continue to live in our sinful flesh. We can open or close our hearts towards God. To truly invite the Holy Spirit into your life, decide to listen.
Independence is a huge value in our world. As a part of that, we are so used to taking things into our own hands. Oh, do we ever! In fact, we likely associate it with strength: We are taking action. However, when we invite the Holy Spirit to be an active part of our life, we acknowledge our dependence on Him. We are asking Him to change us inside and out, realizing that He is far more able.
In our finiteness, we get easily distracted. We focus on what's right in front of us, our visible and physical concerns and joys. Living in tune with the Holy Spirit means to live heavenly-minded. We say, "God, teach me to love what you love."
These are general principles of inviting the presence of God. We want the Holy Spirit to take control of every area of our lives.
Bible study is a part of that.
Let's be honest. Studying Scripture can become a mundane routine when we come at it with our own strength. Reading a few Bible verses out of guilt or to check this “Christian act” off our to-do list is not the way to go.
Revive your Bible study time and invite the Holy Spirit into this act of worship. How? You do it in prayer.
Pray before and even while you are studying Scripture. Here are some prayer suggestions:
Focus: Ask the Holy Spirit to block all distractions and help you give all your attention to the Word of God for the next little while.
Understanding: The Word of God is foolishness to the unbeliever but life-giving to those who follow Him because the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to understand the Bible in a new light.
Conviction: Beyond reading and understanding God’s Word, we want to be doers of it. So pray for the Holy Spirit to convict you of any sin within your life that needs correction.
Implementation: Has the Holy Spirit convicted you? Guess what?! He won’t leave you hanging. Ask God to change your heart, give you strength to obey Him, and grow you towards unwavering faith in Him.
Peace: The Word of God is powerful. Time and time again, when I read Scripture something supernatural happens. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible verses I read to give me peace and calm my heart. Ask Him for the same.
I encourage you to start a prayer journal. Writing down our prayers helps us focus, slow down, and pray with even more intention. Over time, you are collecting a record of your prayers and will see God answer so many with a resounding "yes".
Set aside a chunk of pages for prayer for others. You could even start a separate page for family, church friends, unbelievers, your neighborhood, etc. Jot down prayer requests as you receive them. Then, when God answers one of them, write down the date next to that prayer request. You'll keep a running record of the goodness of God.
If you need some practice inviting the Holy Spirit into your quiet time, you may even consider a Bible study guide on prayer. Just type "Bible study guide on prayer" into the search box above to find your next Bible study guide on Amazon.
I'd love to hear from you! How have you invited the Holy Spirit into your Bible study time? Share with us below how you have experienced His guidance and peace when you prayed.
May God bless you and always remind you: Don’t study the Bible in your own strength. Invite the Holy Spirit in and stay God-dependent!!
