<p>2:7 <em>Consider what I say. And may the Lord give you understanding in all things- </em>As noted on :5 and :6, this applies to the two riddles Paul has given Timothy to think about in the preceding two verses. Our obedience leads to greater obedience, in an upward spiral. The dynamic in this spiral is God's spirit. It is through the Spirit that God draws near to us if we draw near to Him (James 4:7,8). This is neatly summarized in 2 Tim.2:7: &quot;Consider what I say: and the Lord give thee understanding in all things&quot;. Thus our freewill 'considering' will result in the Lord adding to our understanding even more that we could ever achieve unaided. 'Considering', literally 'exercising the mind', is one thing; but the Lord will act directly on the human heart to bring about greater &quot;understanding&quot;. And that is taught in Col. 1:9; 2:2, where the ministry of the Spirit leads to a filling of believers with &quot;understanding&quot;. Clearly the Lord is prepared and eager to act directly upon the mind of believers. Yet too many in conservative circles have left things at just 'considering' Scripture, resistant to the extra element of the Lord adding understanding to their mental gymnastics with Scripture.</p>