I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
—Psalm 106:13
The wise and prudent are those who have confidence in their reasoning ability in their pursuit of spiritual knowledge. The babes are those whose chief work is not the mind and its power, but the heart and its emotions. Ignorance, helplessness, dependence, teachableness, trust, and love—these are the qualities God seeks in those whom He teaches. (See Psalm 25:9, 12, 14, 17, 20.)
One of the most important parts of our devotions is the study of God’s Word. In order to receive the Word in the Spirit, we must wait for the Father to reveal its truth in us. We must have that childlike attitude to which the Father loves to impart the secrets of His love. With the wise and prudent, the most important thing is head knowledge. From them God hides the true spiritual meaning of the very thing they think they understand. With babes it is not the head and its knowledge, but the heart and its emotions that are important. Because they have a sense of humility and trust, God reveals to them the very thing they know they cannot understand.
In order to receive a revelation of God, we must first have this childlike spirit. We all know the first thing a wise workman does is to see that he has the proper tools and that they are in proper order. He does not consider it lost time to stop his work and sharpen the tools. Similarly, it is not lost time to let the Bible study wait until you see whether you are in the right position—waiting for the Father’s revelation with a childlike spirit. If you feel that you have not read your Bible in this spirit, confess at once the self‑confident spirit. Pray for the childlike spirit, and then believe you have it. Although it may be suppressed, it is in you. You can begin at once as a child of God to experience it.
This childlike spirit is in you as a seed in the new life. It must rise and grow in you as a birth of the indwelling Spirit. By faith you must pray for this grace of the Spirit and then exercise it. Live as a newborn babe, “desire the sincere milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2).
Beware of trying to assume this state of mind only when you want to study Scripture. It must be the permanent habit of your mind, the state of your heart. Only then can you enjoy the continual guidance of the Holy Spirit.