We can understand the cross, by the Spirit. That’s what 1 Corinthians 2v6-16 teaches us. We desperately need God’s revealing grace if we’re going to understand, love, and embrace Christ and his cross for ourselves.

Where does this revealing grace come from? You can’t miss him in these verses! The Spirit- God himself.

This means that we need to read by grace, hear by grace. That is, we open our Bibles and start with this fact: our human minds can’t understand and accept what God says without help. And when we need help, there’s only one obvious thing to do- ask for it!

So here are some prayers taken from The Valley of Vision prayer book to help us open our Bibles, get on our knees, and listen to God in utter dependence on the Spirit to reveal to us ‘the things God has prepared for those who love him’:

Lord Jesus,

I am blind- send the Spirit to make me see;
I am dark- let him say, ‘Let there be light’!

Replenish me by the Spirit’s revealing grace.

Send him as the searcher of my heart, to show me more of my corruptions and helplessness,
that I may flee to you,
cling to you,
rest on you,
as the beginning and end of my salvation.

Holy Spirit,

When you first hovered over the chaos before creation, order came to birth, beauty robed the world, fruitfulness sprang forth. Move, I pray, upon my disordered heart.

Take who Christ is and what he’s done and show them to my soul; through you may I daily learn more of his love, grace, compassion, faithfulness, and beauty.