How to Study the Bible on Your Own
BY MALAYA GABOURY - JULY 27, 2020
God’s word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). As young followers of Jesus, it is super important to learn how to study Scripture for ourselves because it is through Scripture that God speaks to us.
When I first made a serious decision to follow Jesus, I realized that there is so much more to the Bible than I ever thought. To be honest, I was kind of overwhelmed at the thought of tackling Scripture on my own. Where do I even start? How will this draw me closer to God? How do I make sense of passages that confuse me? There was no Sunday school lesson that covered how to read the Bible at home.
If you have or had similar questions, then this post is for you. Here are a few things I’ve learned that have helped me read the Bible on my own:
Pray!
Ask God to speak to you and meet you as you study his word. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into passages that you may not understand.
I love Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1, where he asks God to give the people of Ephesus wisdom and revelation in order that they would know God better:
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” - Ephesians 1:17-19
God wants to know you and wants you to know him. And what better way to get to know God than to become familiar with his words? So when we ask God to speak to us and reveal himself to us through Scripture, we can trust that he will answer this prayer.
Start with Something Manageable
You don’t have to read everything at once. Remember, God’s word always accomplishes His purpose (Isaiah 55:11). God can speak to you through any passage of Scripture, even just one verse. Pick one book of the Bible to read through (if you don’t know where to start, my encouragement would be to start with one of the gospels, such as the book of John).
Once you’ve picked the book that you want to read through, remember that you don’t have to read the whole thing in one sitting. You don’t even have to read a whole chapter in one sitting! For the longest time, I read an average of 10 verses per day. Even though reading the book of Acts in this way took me quite a long time, it helped me to stick to it and not get discouraged. After reading smaller passages regularly, I was able to gradually increase the amount of Scripture I read each day. Nowadays, I read an average of one chapter per day.
Don’t be afraid to start by reading bite size passages of Scripture. By starting small, you’ll be able to build consistency in your Bible reading. And as you gain consistency, you will be able to work up to reading larger passages of Scripture.
Look at the Background and Context
This really helps you understand a passage. When looking for the background and context of a passage, here are some questions to ask:
Who was the intended audience of this passage?
How would the intended audience have understood or interpreted this passage?
Who wrote this passage? What did the author want to communicate?
Are there particular themes in this passage that come up in the rest of the book?
You can find answers to these questions by reading the notes in a study Bible or by reading a commentary. I love N.T. Wright’s “For Everyone” series and the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. There are also some great online resources, such as Blue Letter Bible and Howto.Bible.
Make Observations and Ask Questions
Get curious! What themes do you see in this passage? What questions do you have? Is there any repetition of words and/or phrases? List out any promises in the passage. I like to mark my observations in my Bible. I even have a color coding system, which I wrote about here. If you have specific questions about the passage, see if you can answer them with clues from the passage itself. You can also look for answers in other passages of Scripture or in commentaries.
Remember, questions are good things! You don’t have to have all the answers all the time, in fact, you shouldn’t. The more you ask questions, the more you will need to dig into the passage.
Ask questions that will drive you towards the heart of God. Questions such as “What does this passage teach me about God?” will help you seek God and know him better. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:
What does this passage teach you about who God is?
How does this passage point to Jesus?
What might God be saying to me through this passage?
Final thoughts and Encouragement
When we read the Bible, we are getting to know God more. Just like any relationship, the relationship we build with God in Scripture grows over time. Bring your questions and curiosities, your hopes and dreams, your doubts and fears into your time of reading Scripture. And over time, you will get to know God more and more.
For more from Malaya Gaboury visit: https://lifewithmalaya.blogspot.com