What I Learned About Bible Study
I used to wonder why I never seemed to get much of anything significant out of my Bible study time. When I finally started giving my daily life to Christ (instead of just living the life of a casual Christian), I began to discover some reasons why my studies were lacking.
- Select a time of day to do Bible study, and stay consistent. I found that getting out my Bible at the same time every day helped me build up good habits. Missing days or constantly changing the time made it harder to remember to study because it wasn’t part of my daily schedule. For me this meant getting up earlier in the morning, because my evening schedule seems to vary so much that I can’t rely on a consistent time. Yes, this meant sacrificing some of my precious evening time so that I could afford to wake up earlier, but I believe God rewards the sacrifices we make to get closer to Him.
- Eliminate all distractions. I now do my Bible study in a room by myself with the door shut. As cute and cuddly as my cats can be in the mornings, they are just not allowed in. Even if she is quiet, I don’t allow my wife in the room either. This is time between God and I, and it’s much easier to be still and listen to Him when I’m not concerned about what someone else might think, or I’m not distracted by noises or activity in the room. That can be another benefit to picking an early morning or late evening time. In most cases it means that the house is quieter.
- Study with a purpose. If you are just doing Bible study to get some Bible reading done, then finding significance may be a little bit hit and miss. Reading the Bible to gain familiarity does have some benefit, but it probably shouldn’t be the only thing you do. Pick a topic and begin purposely finding out what the Bible has to say on the subject. Or pick a book of the Bible and start going through it in detail to find out what it means. Do Bible study with the intent of applying what you read to your own life. It’s God’s word. Find out what He has to say to you.
- Pray before and after your Bible study. Pray before that God will help you to focus, that He will help you understand what you read. Pray that He would speak to you and help you learn and grow. Pray after to thank Him for what you’ve learned. Pray that He will help you apply what you’ve learned. Ask Him to work in an through your life today.
Submitted by Andrew Batishko
Última actualización: 13/02/2008