My Ultimate Bible Study Tip (Inspired By My Kids)
I'm a massive fan of productivity and study hacks. Anything that can help me learn and work faster is a benefit. But sometimes I get so caught up in finding ways to optimise my work and study that I get distracted and don't get the task done. There are so many options and ideas out there, how do I tell what will work for me?
This has also applied to my own Bible study efforts - I've spent a lot of time trying to find shortcuts and study hacks on how to learn more at a faster pace that I get overwhelmed with what to do. And that is a question I've encountered a number of times, how can I get better at studying the Bible? So I've developed a 3 part study plan to help you accomplish this! In fact, this has been inspired by my kids who are getting smarter every day.
Step 1 - READ IT
Step 2 - READ IT AGAIN
Step 3 - READ IT SLOWLY
If you can do all these (in any order), I can guarantee that your Biblical comprehension will increase.
Step 1 - Read it
I get caught up in reading and learning about the Bible. As informative as this can be, it gives a false sense of actually spending time in the Bible.
I need to just read it.
As in actually read it.
Read it at any pace, but read it
Any translation, any app, any format, but just get to know the story. Don’t worry about understanding, just get it in you.
My 2 and half year old son is at the sponge stage where he takes in everything he sees and hears. He may not understand it, but he’s simply taking it in, and even repeating it! It's a huge part of his development of understanding language and culture, and the same thing applies to learning more about the Bible The best way for my son to glean language and how to speak is to engage with it as best as he can.
So just start with reading it!
Step 2 - Read it again
Repetition is powerful.
I'm watching my youngest baby girl learn to crawl, and soon she'll walk. It is a fascinating process where she has the strength in her body but is needing to learn the coordination of using her body to create movement in the direction she wants to go. It's all about repeating the same motions so that they become familiar and coordinated.
Each time you cycle through the content again, your brain is slowly capturing more and more element of data that is building up a bigger picture. The best way to get a text into you is to reread it. Read it once to get it in you, read it again to get to know it.
Step 3 - Read it slowly
My son Ezra loves to ride his tricycle around the house and in our backyard. The only way he was able to accomplish this was by starting slowly. When he first got on his tricycle, he moved around very slowly and learn how to operate it as well as the layout of our house. Over time he's gotten more and more familiar with the nuances of the tricycle and where all the furniture and the walls of the house are. Now he's at the point where he can ride at incredible speeds without crashing - but this is only possible because he started out slowly and getting to know the little details.
As much as I like the 30 Day Bible Shred, slowing right down has some huge benefits. It lets you see things you'd normally skip over.
This is where you can get creative. I've tried a few things to slow down my reading - handwriting the Bible, memorising verses, reading it aloud, reading groups of stories rather than whole chapters.
Take the time to see what you naturally notice. Get to know the little details. Ask questions, write down notes.
A lot of great Bible study content is based on the presupposition that you've read through the whole Bible at least once, and you're at least vaguely familiar with the text. Often the idea of studying the Bible and getting to know the scriptures can be intimidating, so following some sort of reading plan is really helpful. Using these 3 steps has helped me a lot!
Read it, read it again, read it slowly!
This is also a huge part of personal devotions and spending time getting to know God through the scriptures. The authors of the Bible spent a lot of time thinking about what they need to write about, and taking the time to meditate on it can help you get to know what the authors are trying to communicate. Reading little snippets of the favourite parts of your Bible is ok, but aim for more - aim for the whole text!