One of the things that really helped me get more out of reading the Bible was actually taking seriously (aka having true faith, really believing) that the Bible is in every sense the literal word of the almighty all-powerful all-knowing all-wise creator of the universe and everything therein¹. Reading the Bible from that perspective brings with it—nay, it necessarily requires/demands—that you keep front and center in your mind the idea that every book, chapter, passage, verse, and word was written under God's watchful eye, that it was inspired (breathed out) by Him.

And the thing about that, you see, is that God—the same God who counts the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7)— doesn't waste words; He wasn't careless in what was written because God—the same God who will require us to give an account of every idle wordwe speak—certainly isn't a God who would speak idly or suffer others to speak or write idly (pointlessly) on his behalf.

Thus, if you're reading, and you don't see the point of a book, chapter, passage, verse, or even a specific word in the bible, it's safer (and much more accurate) to assume that the problem is with you, and not the word of God. And when I say the problem is you, I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but rather in a way that's meant to inspire humility. You can think about it in the sense that if you sat down and tried to read a book on String Theory and didn't get it, it would be foolish to conclude that it's because String Theory is nonsense; or if you sat down to read a universally well-respected work of literature and didn't get anything from it or understand it, it's not because there wasn't anything to get or understand. It's wiser to assume that you're understanding is falling short, not Shakespeare.

That said, it's perfectly ok for understanding to fall short, in fact it's normal actually because if you think about it, what's the alternative—that you sit down and read and grasp the word of the living God without any struggling/wrestling/contending? That you can simply read the Divinely inspired word of the creator of the universe the same way you would a novel or a magazine article? If there's anything that doesn't make sense, it's that very idea right there.

Now far be it from me to imply, much less suggest, that God is miserly when it comes to letting people understand his Word, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm simply saying that if you're looking to get all you can from reading the Bible, then you need to read in a certain way, and approaching the Bible with humility and faith that it has something to offer (and by the by, it actually has much more to offer than most of us could ever even receive), can go a long way when it comes to actually being able to plumb the depths of the wells of wisdom contained in the Bible's every word.

In any case, all knowledge requires a framework of preexisting belief to provide it with coherence. I think St.Anselm said it best though: "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam," which translates to, "I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand."

1 - This is not to say I didn't believe the Bible was the word of God, but rather to say that you can believe something without necessarily "taking it as seriously", and when you take a belief seriously, it demands you act in accordance with it.