John Piper, in a sermon, “Wonderful Things From Your Word”
Consider 2 Timothy 2:7. The NASB has “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Literally it is, “Think about (noei) what I say.” Does this mean that understanding Paul’s teaching is simply a human, natural enterprise of thinking? No. The end of the verse says, “The Lord will give you understanding.” It is not you who can see it on your own. Spiritual apprehension is a gift of God.
But God has ordained to give the gift of supernatural light through thinking. “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” So by all means pray and ask God to give you the light you need. But don’t replace thinking with praying. Think and pray. Pray and think. This is the way God has set it up. A historical Christ. A book of preservation and revelation. All of that says: read and study and ransack and think. But all is in vain without prayer. Both-and, not either-or.
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 