Most of us
need some guidelines to help us to have fruitful personal bible
study.
The approach for personal bible study differs from that for
group bible study. This article is a small effort to help all of us
to have a real meeting with God when we do bible study.
Psalm
119:33-40(The Message).
GOD, teach
me lessons for living so I can stay the course.
Give me
insight so I can do what you tell me-- my whole life one long,
obedient response.
Guide me
down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a
bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot.
Divert my
eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm
your promises to me-- promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect
the harsh words of my critics-- but what you say is always so good.
See how
hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous
ways!
The
over all approach to personal bible study is as follows:
- Pray before you start your bible study
- Read the passage you plan to do your bible study on
- Think about the passage you have read and have chosen for your bible study
- Consider the application of your bible study in your life
- End your bible study with prayer asking god to lead you through the Holy Spirit
This is
the broad guidelines for your bible study. We shall now consider
everything in more detail.
Pray
before you start your bible study:
If bible
study is not approaches prayerfully the presence of the Holy Spirit
may not be felt completely. Remember you want God to really show you
what He wants to teach you today. Ask for guidance and wisdom when
you are thinking about these passages.
Read
the passage you plan to do your bible study on:
The first
and most important point to be stressed is not to read randomly in
the bible and expect God to speak to you. God can speak to you in any
way, that is true, but normally it is best to approach bible study
systematically to be very sure in your mind that you are not reading
something into a passage that is not really there. Spend enough time
in reading the passage slowly a few times to make sure you are
completely sure of exactly what is said in it. Allow the Holy Spirit
to reveal everything to you during this part of your bible study.
Think
about the passage you have read and have chosen for your bible study:
During
your bible study there are a few principles to keep in mind:
1. Teach
yourself to ask questions all the time. Questions like, who, why,
what, when. When you do this you’ll discover things in the
scripture you missed before. You’ll become aware of the richness of
the scripture.
(Psa
119:18 MSG) Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your
miracle-wonders.
2. Write
down everything you have discovered. This helps you to really make
the scripture your own, to really understand what God is saying to
you, in your particular circumstances. Always keep your notebook
handy when you are doing bible study and refer to your previous notes
regularly. In this way you will be able to see clearly the road God
is leading you on.
Consider
the application of your bible study in your life:
At this
stage you have to consider the applications of your bible study to
your life. Really try and think what it is God wants you to do.
Without this vital last step you won’t get the full blessing from
your bible study. Make it your own and go out there and do what God
wants you to do. Keep it personal and do not try and find something
in a piece of scripture nobody else has discovered yet. That is not
your purpose; you need to find out what God has in store for YOU.
End
your bible study with prayer asking god to lead you through the Holy
Spirit:
In this
final prayer ask God to lead you on your way as He has shown it to
you. Ask for the continual awareness of the Holy Spirit as you apply
this in your life.
Doing
bible study in this way will make it a wonderful blessing and very
precious time spent in the presence of our Lord.
Passages
to consider:
Deuteronomy
30:1-32:28
St. Mark
5:1-10
Psalm
119:41-48
Proverbs
17:17
