God is not a vending machine. He is not the genie of all genies, in covenant with his people to grant their every wish. No mature Christian, of course, would ever think of God in such terms. We know that God does not always give us what we ask for in prayer. We trust that God has good reasons for such denials. Paul asked the Lord to rid him of the mysterious “thorn in the flesh” three times, but the answer was no (2 Cor. 12:7–10). Even Jesus was refused when he asked God to deliver him from death on the cross if it was God’s will.
Upon reflection, this pill isn’t so hard to swallow. Perhaps the thing we so desperately want wouldn’t be good for us. Perhaps our motives aren’t completely upright. Even if they are, perhaps God has something better planned. These reasons are hard to fathom, though, when we ask God to illumine our mind to understand Scripture. Why wouldn’t God want that?
Of course God wants us to rightly understand the Bible. He desires our understanding like he desires us to treat our spouse kindly, tell someone the gospel, or meet someone’s emotional or financial need when it’s in our power to do so (Prov. 3:27). But all of these spiritual endeavors depend in part upon our own will, discernment, and ability. Bible study is no exception.
This is transparently obvious when you think about it. We know from their writings that Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Wesley prayed that they would properly understand Scripture and believed God had answered that prayer. Yet these famous theologians came to dramatically different conclusions on many topics and in many passages. John Calvin, for example, is famous for his insistence that the salvation of individual believers was predestinated, an idea Wesley rejected. Luther’s judgment that the book of James didn’t belong in the New Testament would have drawn objections from the rest of these theologians.
While it’s certainly appropriate to ask God to guide our study, it’s our responsibility to develop skill and experience in studying Scripture. Prayer is no cover for either meager effort or failure to address our own inadequacies as students. Most Bible students accept that until they’re in the heat of a theological joust or feel the urge to explain why their church is better than someone else’s. Resist the temptation to believe that you prayed yourself correct or to say to yourself, “but for answered prayer, I might be mistaken.” Hone your skills and ask God to help you do the best you can.