I try to study Scripture about once a day. Although, I should do it every day, but somehow, my mind resorts to once a week, I’m pretty bad at that. Do you struggle to read the Word regularly? Who doesn’t?
By taking action in the effort of reading Scripture, devotionally, there comes momentum to practice what the Lord told you in that letter. Where every passage or chapter read each day, brings delight to your soul as you breathe in and breathe out.
In that delight, is a desire to know God intimately and personally. Intelligently and honorably. Deeply and faithfully.
In theory, you delight in the Word because you know how to read and understand it. God gives you wisdom to understand as you pray for the Holy Spirit to reconcile your understanding with His.
As you fall deeper into His love, draw closer to Him in a relationship, and learn more about Him, you conclude that you are satisfied. You get this feeling that you will make it in life because He is directing your steps.
The Lord satisfies your thirst and feeds you when you’re hungry whenever you take time to read the Word. Well, I’ve discovered that reading the Word is crucial to the success of my work and life. If I don’t know how to read the Bible, I lose touch with reality or with God. I simply cannot afford to not know how to read it. I must learn!
Likewise, with every Christian that is, they too love the Lord enough to read it the right way. Because they learned from the pastor, or from friends, or from family.
Yet, I find it curious as not everyone has that luxury. Not everyone knows how to read God’s letter. You need to have study skills, and let me tell you why.
God wants you to learn about Him. Scripture acts both as a barrier and a sword against false teaching. When someone lies to you about Christ or a pastor goes on a rant about prosperity teaching, you need to know how to identify their claims to stay clear of it.
Dangerous false teachings can also impact your mental health, just like the Word of Faith movement which taints the gospel with “I Can Do Anything, I deserve the right to health.”
Studying the Word naturally defends you in that area. Not only that but your discernment increases when you take that time, your perception of the difference between right and wrong; right and almost right.
It also makes you wise for salvation, helping you appreciate it more and grow in wisdom toward God. Once you apply and keep its principles, it will bless you in all its teaching. Lastly, on that note, it equips you.
The power of prayer, worship, Yeshua, and the Word help you stay in check. Actively creating time to read Scripture prevents you from deviating from its truth or misinterpreting it.
I remember the time I took the Word out of context and stated that I can ultimately do anything through Christ who strengthens me. I was 10 years old. However, this verse means that you can persevere through challenges when it is according to God’s will. It means that you can do things according to God’s will that glorify Him.
I have grown in my faith since then, but it poses the narrative that when you don’t know how to read the context, you won’t be able to understand its value, it’s taken for granted. Likewise, it’s the same with the Bible. I didn’t always know how to study. It took some digging.
Before, I would read in the “basic English” context I gained from Middle School and Elementary, which didn’t get me very far. I did not understand the more complex messages it portrayed, like in the Law.
As I grew older and when I was in High School, I learned to use commentaries and various methods.
With online tools, studying the Bible has never been easier. You can use online Bible translations and commentaries with ease, or research articles on various topics to find your answer. You can even look at the concordances of Aramaic, Koine Greek, or Old Hebrew, the languages of the Bible, with a click of a button.
This is how I study my Bible. I use online commentaries, but I read the context first. I try to understand the meaning in my own words before I look at the commentaries. I gain my own judgment.
Then I start highlighting and underlining key terms and ideas. I also leave notes of what I just read in my open Bible. After this, I open up a journal.
After I’m finished highlighting and underlining, I use the SOAP method.
The SOAP Method
With a pen and paper, or journal, state the Scripture with the Bible chapter and verse. Then make observations of what you read in the passage. Then, you want to ask, how do you apply and put it into practice? Lastly, you want to leave behind a prayer that relates to that passage.
After I use the Soap Method, then I do some digging.
The OICA Method
Because I’ve already made the observations, I go straight to interpretation. What is being meant by the passage? I attempt to uncover the actual meaning of the Scripture first. What was the author trying to say? What is he saying to me? What is God saying to me? Why is this here? What’s the theological significance of it?
Helpmewithbiblestudy.org states, “Always refer to parallel passages, noting both differences and similarities. Research the words recalling that even in English the meanings of various words will change over time—Evaluate the use of grammar—Carefully consider the context of the verse, passage, paragraph, chapter, and book—discover what the author’s intent was in writing what you are reading.
Study the background of the book of which your study passage is part of Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, etc—Consider the author’s themes in other writing—Evaluate how you would understand the writer if they were communicating directly with you.”
Essentially, this technique “helped” me study my Bible in the correct way when I forgot how. It indicates that in this proper way of studying, you want to have the data and facts straight as you are researching. Or, how you can interpret the Scriptures.
Then, I go to correlation; I go to other bible passages to see what can help me understand the passage at hand. I’m looking for additional sections of the chapter, book, or entire Bible to see how I can understand a specific passage. As helpmewithbiblestudy suggests, this is often done simultaneously with interpretation.
Because I’ve already written the application, I move into meditation. This is when and where I think about the Word, picturing different scenarios. This is how I show my love for God because I meditate with calming sounds as well.
This is where I reflect on and internalize Scripture. Notwithstanding, if I’m lazy and don’t want to do all of this, I break down the method into an example, command, and principle format.
Example, Command, and Principle
- What is the example that analyzes the actions of individuals in the passage and their choices?
- What is the command that it conveys? Such as identifying and understanding direct instructions.
- What is the principle it wants you to apply to your life? Such as with life lessons and guiding principles from a passage.
Studying your Bible
Yeah, this is how I study my Bible. Studying your Bible has many benefits. For me, it helped me to feel satisfied with the help that He gave me, ensuring I have ways to cope with daily life. I now feel confident to actually understand it. First and foremost, it gives you direct authority over life obstacles and Satan himself; giving you satisfaction in your everyday life.
You draw near to God, and He draws near to you. Furthermore, you’re armed against deception and the lies of sadness, anxiety, doubt, stress, and insecurity, to name a few. Knowing how to study the Scripture just gives you an even greater opportunity to draw near to God and live a healthy life.
After you successfully study your Bible, know it’s a powerful thing to do. It’ll leave you feeling accomplished in your day-to-day life. You may even feel gratitude that you learned something.
Pat yourself on the back. You read it, you got this far, you can go further. Once you apply it, you’ll soon find you’re practicing what you preached. With these Bible study skills, you will be capable of answering the hardest questions found in the Bible.
You can debate with other Christians, non-Christians, or atheists. You can help someone in need whether as a pastor or warrior. You can even help yourself in godliness and safety to fulfill your occupation as a Christian.
With that said, the benefits and abilities are endless. You can cross this off your list as an accomplished task, and on to another.
So, what do you say? Are you ready to delve into your Bible? Do you have what it takes? It could be worth exploring! It’s not that scary, believe me. The next time you’re up for a challenge, implement these Bible study techniques into your day.
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Works Cited
Houdmann, Michael. “Is the Word of Faith Movement Biblical?”
GotQuestions.org, www.gotquestions.org/Word-Faith.html.
Jakes, Michael. “5 Powerful Reasons You Need to Study the Bible – Topical Studies.”
Biblestudytools.com, 21 July 2021, www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/powerful-reasons-you-need-to-study-the-bible.html.
P., Rhebergen. “The OICA Methodology of Bible Study.”
Helpmewithbiblestudy.org, 2025, helpmewithbiblestudy.org/5Bible/HermOICAMethod_Rhebergen.aspx. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
