The word of God has been handed down to us by God through Jesus and the Holy Ghost. It is the job of the Holy Ghost to reveal to us what God desires us to learn, know, understand, hear, and ultimately to do through the lifestyle we live. Unless we have a clear understanding of what God's word is saying to us and what it truly means, we are left to our own devices, assumptions, opinions and interpretation.God made it very clear to us through his written word in Proverbs 3:5 when he said, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." If we lean to what we think we know and understand chances are that what we understand and know to be true is not true at all. Think about the last conversation you had with someone where you thought they said something that was offensive to you only to find out that your assumption of what they said or meant was wrong.
The only sure way to know that you have heard a person clearly and you fully understand what they are saying is to clarify it by asking them if what you heard is what they meant. You must ask specific questions about what you heard to make sure that you are not thinking or assuming the person means something or meant to leave you with an impression that they had no idea or intention of making. We must read the word of God and clarify what we are reading by praying and asking God what he means in his word. You have to go straight to the source. Another way to clarify what you think you know about what you have read is to ask around.
When you read Matthew 7:7 and it says, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you", God made it clear through Jesus Christ that we must ask him for what we desire to have and know. If we don't understand something or think we understand something the simple way to know for sure is to ask. Pray about what you need guidance on and then ask a pastor, leader, or a friend who studies the word and attends church services. When you ask someone who is familiar with the word of God they can edify and point you in the right direction.
When you hear the word of God being preached, you must apply the same principle. You have to investigate and see if what you think you heard is what the preacher or teacher was trying to inform and teach you. First things first, before you ask the preacher or teacher, pray and ask God to give you the answer and open your eyes, ears, and heart to be receptive to what the leader will say. It is very easy to listen selectively and hear only what we want to hear or hear what we think we are hearing so that we can accuse or judge the person who is speaking, teaching, or preaching. Our motives and our past experiences must be examined so that we get a clear understanding of what we are seeing, reading, hearing, and what we come to know and understand in the word of God.
