How to Study the Bible

The Bible
It's OK to highlight and make notes.
Study to learn...
to have God's approval.

Prayer – Lord, I understand that studying and knowing You through the Bible is the most important part of my relationship with You. How can I know You if I just hear about You through others…or see You in the nature You’ve created? No. I must study Your word to know You. Open my eyes and my heart to learn more about You today…and every day until You return or call me home to Heaven. 

Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 AMP

 

Meditate on studying God’s word.

 

So—how does a person study the Bible? Where do you begin?

 

There are sixty-six books in the Bible. There are history, poetry, prophecy, and teaching books divided into the Old Testament, before Jesus was born, and the New Testament, written about Him after Jesus lived on earth. Choose a book of the Bible that you want to read. If you are not a Christian or if you are a new believer, a good place to begin is with the book of John in the New Testament. You could also choose Matthew, Mark, or Luke in the New Testament or begin at the beginning with Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Then to begin your study of the Bible, you can follow these steps:

1.      Pray. Ask God to give you understanding as you read. Ask Him to open your eyes to what He wants you to learn.

2.      Read a chapter or short passage until you feel that God is speaking to you. You may even want to read it in a different translation. There are many Bible translations available on line.

3.      Observe what your read. What is God saying? Who is this about? How is it significant to you? Why? When? Is there a meaning that you need to interpret or dig deeper to understand? Can you apply this passage to your life today?

4.      Using a Study Bible with notes will help you understand the history, the particular people, and the spiritual concepts that are involved in the portion of the scripture you are reading.

5.      Look up cross references to see what other parts of the Bible say about a verse or even a particular word. If you use a Bible on-line, like the Blue Letter Bible, you will find a handy concordance that will help explain particular words and other references.

6.      If there are words you don’t understand, use an English dictionary and look up their meaning.

7.      If you are using a paper version or even an electronic version, you can underline or highlight key words or phrases in the passage.

8.      It is helpful to rewrite the passage in your own words, or write out what your thought was about the passage and how it impressed you.

9.      Do you have someone to study with or a mentor that can guide your Biblical investigation?  Asking questions and discussing the passage with someone will help to unlock new meanings.

10.   Capture the big idea. Look at how the scripture fits into God’s big picture and history. He is giving us not only a historical perspective but also a prophetic view. Seek to know what happened and what will happen.

11.   Pray briefly again as you conclude your study for the day. Consider how you can apply the scripture you have studied to your life today and do it!

We are blessed to have the privilege and freedom to study God’s word for ourselves. Not everyone around the world has that unrestricted opportunity. Are you making a choice to spend time in God’s word every day? Are you choosing to build a better relationship with Him?

What do you think? Is this the way you study the Bible? Comments? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks.

Verses of Salvation calling for spiritual growth ~ You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),

Copyright ©2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. lockman.org

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com

 

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