For several months I have been studying Romans with seemingly no progression into revelation.

Romans isn’t the only book I’ve been studying but it’s the one I’ve been studying as my personal study plan. (I have an end-times study plan for my e12, and a Daniel Academy study plan for my TDA class.) I spend about 4 to 8 hours a week in Romans, which translates to 1 or 2 days of studying it.

It’s been several months and I’m just about finished with chapter three. You’d think that if I was going that slowly I’d be going incredibly deeply as well, but I don’t feel enlightened or full of revelation. I love what I’m studying and I love the Word. I feel God when I study but there hasn’t been a “click” where I feel like I’m retaining deep revelation and growing in comprehensive understanding.

Understanding and loving the Bible is what all of us want. But most of us shy away from it because we feel too intimidated by it.

The Bible is a thick book for sure, and you can’t read it in a day. But there is something about the Bible that makes it different than any other piece of literature ever penned: It’s alive. There is a Man hidden between those words.

Understanding the Bible is different than understanding any other book. It takes supernatural help from Heaven. This is simultaneously good and bad news.

Good news because when we feel like we’re overwhelmed or like we’ll “never get it”, we can relax and know that God can help us. If we’re not “smart” or “scholarly” you can still have raging revelation on the Bible. Because it doesn’t live in your head, it burns in your spirit.

But it’s bad news too because try as we may, we will never get the word of God alive in us apart from God’s chosen way. And that means prayer, fasting and holiness.

You cannot touch deep revelation without prayer. You cannot open your spirit to receive truth without fasting. You cannot retain understanding without repentance and a holy lifestyle.

Also, we can’t forget that it takes time. Just past boredom is revelation. We need a history of prayer, fasting and pursuing holiness before we can be trusted with the deep mysteries of Heaven.

And there is another element that I never even considered until recently: The angelic element.

Example 1: Daniel
In Daniel Chapter 9, Daniel is in his room. He’s speaking praying and confessing his sins. When suddenly and completely unexpectedly Gabriel makes an entrance.

Think about that.

You’re praying and an angel shows up. And not just any angel either. Gabriel.

What strikes me is the first thing Gabriel says to Daniel: “I have come here to give you skill to understand.” An angel from heaven came to give Daniel skill to understand the Bible, the times he was living in, and the end of the age.

Example 2: John
In Revelation 10 another mighty angel comes down from heaven. He’s got a small book in his hand and it’s for John to eat. The angel brought the book to John.

I don’t really have a summary conclusion to make here, but rather just an encouragement. That God wants to open His Word to our hearts. He wants us to know it, to understand it, to be changed by it. He wants His Word alive in our inner man in a way that empowers us to deeper prayer and more passionate holiness.

Those who are apathetic about it will never touch it. But those who are hungry and desperate for it will get it.