Studying Your Bible – Part 1

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalms 119:18

Let’s consider some practical suggestions for getting more out of your Bible study: Schedule it. If you don’t, it won’t happen. Learn to say no to unimportant things. For many of us the biggest obstacle to studying the Bible is television; the average person watches over four hours every day. Do the math: that’s sixty-one days a year—two months! By the age of eighteen, the average person has seen 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders. And by the age of sixty-five they’ve spent about nine-and-a-half years watching TV. By contrast, if you went to Sunday school regularly from birth until the age of sixty-five, you’d only have had a total of four months of Bible teaching. No wonder we struggle spiritually. Discipline yourself by setting aside a specific time each day to study your Bible—and let nothing get in the way. And do it when you’re at your best physically, emotionally, and intellectually, not when you’re distracted and hurried. You know if you’re ‘a day person’ or a ‘night person’, so pick the time when you’re most alert. The spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak, so if you don’t want your study time to turn into ‘snore time’, don’t try to study when you’re tired, or right after a big meal. Keep a notebook to jot down your observations and keep track of what God is saying to you. Writing does three things: it clarifies, reinforces and personalizes. Also, ask yourself, ‘What can I take away from this passage?’ It will help to fix God’s Word firmly in your mind and jog your memory regarding what you’re supposed to do about it.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me understand that reading and studying Your Word is an investment with many rewards and returns! In Jesus’ Name, Amen