Christian Devotions & Resource Centre

The importance of effective bible study in these latter days cannot be overemphasized. As a Christian, I believe that bible study should be part of our daily life. So what are the ways to study our bible? Put differently, how do we study the bible?
There are several ways to carry out effective bible study. I will only discuss a few important ones that will be of great help if put into practice.

Reading through the whole books of the bible in a year is good. However, studying each book of the bible even though it takes you three months to study each book is far better. The way to go about this is to read through any book you intend to study first (Genesis or the epistle of John for example), then come back to the chapter one of it again. Take every issue discussed and begin to compare them to what you have read in other portions of the entire bible. Write out the lesson learned e.g. instructions given, mistake to avoid, prophecy given, command to obey etc.
This method is good, but the limitation is that you will not be able to do much if you have not read through the whole bible or at least 50 percent of the bible.

Closely related to studying the bible by books is bible study by chapters. Just as the name implies, what you need do is take each chapter of any book of the bible, read through it, then start from verse one of the same and do a careful study. Start by summarising what the whole chapter is all about, highlight every important statement made in the chapter and compare them to similar statement made elsewhere in the bible. Remember to write out the lesson learned including prayers points that may emanate from any of the verse. A good study bible might have done 70 percent of the work for you, it is important you have one. Read through the author’s comment on the page as well as any reference given. Be sure to open your mind and I’m sure the Holy Spirit will give you better understanding.

Bible study by verse is a more in-depth and careful way to learn. If you have a plan of reading through the bible in a year, then bible study by verse is a great way to follow. What you need do here is read a portion of the bible according to your plan, and then take any verse that appeals to you as you read and do a careful study. You can also decide to study a specific book of the bible by verse. For instance, if I have a plan of reading through the bible in a year, I can at the same time have a plan of studying ‘the gospel according to John’ by verse. What I will do is after I have finished reading the portion of the bible for the day, then I will go to John chapter 1 and read verse 1, memorise it, meditate on it and compare it to similar verse of the bible. I will write out and discuss whatever I learn from it with my wife, children and others. Remember that your study bible will have said something about that verse, except if it’s not a standalone statement.