9 Tips to Effectively Study the Bible

How many times have you had a desire to study God’s word, only to find yourself not knowing where or how to begin? I honestly cannot tell you how many times this has happened to me. So many times I’ve sat down ready to dive into God’s word only to immediately feel discouraged because I didn’t know where to begin. This honestly resulted in me not studying at all many times. Not good, right? I know. And trust me, I felt bad every single time. If this is an area of struggle for you then you may find this post very helpful. Today, I would like to share with you, 9 tips to effectively study the bible so that you will no longer struggle with this going forward.

I know that studying God’s word can be a bit overwhelming at times because there’s so many things to read. This sometimes discourages many of us from even opening our bibles. For me, I don’t prefer to randomly read, just for the sake of reading. And although the bible is full of meaningful and powerful things, I prefer to have some sort of plan or idea of what I’m going to be studying. If you’ve been in that space of discouragement or are there then you may understand just how that can be. The thing is, this doesn’t have to be a struggle for you anymore.

a focused plan of action…

These 9 tips will not only help you to effectively study the bible, but provide you with a plan so you’ll go into every bible study completely confident. And you’ll actually look forward to opening your bible. If this sounds like something you’d love, please continue reading.

There’s no specific way to study nor place to start in the bible. I often find it conducive to dive into God’s word with a focused plan of action of some sort. This plan will help you to focus and stay on course, eliminating any possible distractions that may arise. It will also ensure that you will be in a position to receive everything that you need from God’s word.

During this time I like to first gather my top five bible study essentials. This ensures that I am prepared for every bible study. I don’t know about you, but I cherish my quality time in God’s word and like to be prepared. I want the same for you as well!

Top 5 Bible Study Essentials Checklist:

• Bible (I prefer a physical bible, although sometimes I use YouVersion Bible App as a quick scripture reference.)
• Notepad or Google Docs
• Highlighter(s)
• Pen
• Dictionary.com App

Now that I’ve shared with you what you can expect from this post and my top five Bible Study Essentials, let’s get into why you’re really here.

This post is all about 9 tips to effectively study the bible.

Part I: Preparation

The following three tips are what I like to call preparation. This should be done before you actually begin your studying. It could be a day before, couple of days earlier, or even earlier that same day. However, if your studying will take place early in the a.m., you may want to properly plan the night before, at least.

Preparation is key when it comes to doing anything successfully, and in this case, effectively.

According to dictionary.com, to do something effectively means to do it in a way that accomplishes a purpose or produces the intended or expected results. So, before diving into bible study I find the following to be very helpful before I actually sit down to study. They provide me with a sense of direction for my bible studies and allows me to properly plan and not waste unnecessary time so that I can render my intended + expected results.

I don’t recommend you do preparation at the same time you plan to sit and study. The whole idea is for you to plan out your study with these three tips so that you’ll be prepared later for your actual study time with minimal distractions or wasted time.

I. Choose a designated study time

Almost everything in our day-to-day lives have a designated time attached to it; whether it’s work, an outing, meeting, or gathering of some nature. Your time spent in God’s word deserves it own designated time as well. In fact, it is our reasonable service as Christians to study God’s word daily because it is our spiritual nourishment.

Consuming the living word of God daily is just as important as the natural foods you consume daily because it helps you to live righteously, stay connected to God, and helps you become the woman God created you to be.

Natural foods are for the body, but the living word of God is for the soul + spirit. So take some time and properly plan when you’ll have your daily bible studies and allow God to speak to your heart through His word.

Lets face it, life can be pretty consuming and many of us don’t have hours upon hours to dedicate to studying the word, but the few moments you do have for God matters. Whether it’s an hour, 30 mins, or even 15 mins, make it count!

Trust me, you’ll rarely get what you need from God’s word when you ill plan and just randomly open it just for the sake of it. Rather, take some time and properly plan your time in God’s word. God desires for you to give Him unrushed and undistracted time. Not leftover time. He doesn’t like leftovers.

II. Identify the purpose (of your studying)

Knowing what you will study or at least having some sort of idea will help you save so much time and headache. There’s nothing more frustrating or time consuming than opening the bible and not knowing how you are going to spend your next 25 mins to an hour of study time.

This time should be focused time, not idle time. Identify your plan ahead of time so that you can get started right away and properly utilize all your time.

III. Have all your essentials ready

Having your bible study essentials ready will set you up for success each time. Having everything you need right in front of you will help you to save time and stay focused every moment. It eliminates the distraction of stopping several times to go look for the things you needed from the start.

On the contrary, not having everything you need handy prevents you from properly consuming the information and taking your notes, etc. It’s more effective to write things down than try and keep a mental note of what you’re studying. The goal here is to be focused, prepared, and do bible study effectively so that you will accomplish what you set out to do during this time in God’s word.

Now that we’ve gone over some preparation tips, we’ll get into the second part which are the actual 9 tips to effectively study the bible.

[Related Post: 3 Key Methods to Apply God’s Word]

Part II: Study Time

So the moment is now. You’ve time blocked this on your calendar, you’ve decided on the purpose or idea of what you’ll be studying, and have gathered all your essentials that you’ll be using. Now it’s time to dive in and begin.

These next set of tips are how I personally study the word. As I mentioned earlier, there is no “one way” of doing this. This is just how I prefer to do it because it works well for me and keeps me focused, organized, and helps me to retain the knowledge of God’s word.

1. A Quick Prayer

Before diving into bible study I almost always say a prayer. This prayer is typically a quick prayer just thanking God for His word and asking Him to lead + guide me through His word. I often pray that God will give me understanding and clarity of His word and speak to my heart. It’s also helpful to ask God to clear your mind and heart so that you can freely receive His word.

I believe this step is important because you want to make sure you are going before God’s word with the right posture and intentions. The bible tells us to do everything unto God, Colossians 3:23. This includes bible study as well. When studying God’s word I believe you’re doing it in the presence of God. This is why it’s important to respectfully go before God’s word and not treat it like any other book you may read.

2. Focus on One Book or Set of Relatable/Focused Scriptures At a Time

When it comes to “what” to study, that may often vary depending on many factors. There may be some instances where you are feeling a certain way within and you choose to focus solely on scriptures that are directly correlated to what you’re going through at the moment. For example, if you are feeling anxious or have been dealing with a lot of anxiety you would focus on scriptures that are specifically related to anxiety such as, Philippians 4:6; Proverbs 12:25; Psalms 139:23 and so forth.

If you were focusing on a particular book instead, you would study the book of Matthew or Proverbs in its entirety, for example. Having a focal point is helpful so that you will not be all over the place. The same concept applies to if you were focusing on a set of focused scriptures. This would look similar to a set of relatable scriptures, but it would in most cases be unrelated scriptures, instead.

The whole idea is that having some kind of focus will make your bible study that much more effective because you know what you are targeting and you can focus solely on that.

Here are some ways I discover what to focus my bible studies around most of the time.

1. Most of the time during or after prayer God may put something in my spirit that sticks with me. Then, I’ll go to certain scriptures in the bible and study more on it.
2. I plan to begin with a particular book and study only that book for the next few weeks if I feel propelled in my spirit to do so.
3. As mentioned earlier in this post, sometimes when I’m going through something in my life I like to find relatable scriptures that can encourage me in that particular area. A great place to find this would be in the “God’s Answers to Man’s Concerns” section towards the back of the bible. This resource can be a very helpful guide for you.
4. Use the sections, “Parables of Jesus Christ” + “Miracles of Jesus Christ” found in the back of your bible, which contains a break down of different parables and important points in the bible.

3. Read + Highlight Major Points

As you read the chapter or set of scriptures that you are focusing on; highlight, circle and/or mark all the scriptures or points that stand out to you the most. I personally do all three. This step will make it easier for you to know which major points stood out to you when you go back to reread.

The scriptures you’ve highlighted or marked are the things you feel spoke to your heart or spirit and is what you will dissect further.

4. Reread + Write Major Points

After reading and marking major points that stood out to you, go back through those points you previously marked or highlighted and reread them. Rereading them helps you to really get them in your spirit and gain an understanding.

Writing or paraphrasing the scriptures that you’ve marked may seem like a bit much, but trust me, it will help you to retain them and it makes it easier for you to reflect upon them later.

5. Reflect On the Highlighted Scriptures

Meditate on the scriptures you’ve written and reflect on them to see how you can apply them to your life. It will also help you gain more understanding of them.

This is where I like to dissect the scriptures a little further. Sometimes the bible can be a little challenging to understand, so as I begin to dissect it further I often like to google more on them or just ponder on them for a while and God usually gives me more clarity.

6. Define Any Words for More Clarity

Sometimes defining even the most simplest words can give you more clarity on the context of the content you’re reading. This is something that I incorporate into my bible studies often. It gives me more understanding of what the passage or scripture is about. This would be helpful for you because it will bring the scriptures to life more.

Now that you’ve gone through both parts to having an effective bible study, I pray that you’ll take what you need and apply it to your daily life. Applying them will help you to render the results you are in pursuit of during every bible study.

If you have any of your own effective bible study tips that you’d love to share, please share them in the comments section below. I’d love to hear them!

This post was all about 9 tips to effectively study the bible.