Inductive Bible Study is hard work, but there are tools that can help make the effort a bit easier.
Observation
www.blueletterbible.com offers multiple versions, Bible verse cross references, Bible dictionaries, Encyclopedias, commentaries, sermons, and Bible search that can help you to get the full historical, cultural, contextual and language translation nuances to better understand a passage of scripture. There are many other online Bible sites that also offer these types of resources to help in getting the big picture and the detail knowledge of scripture.
Interpretation
It takes more than reading a passage to accurately interpret it. Cross reference verses in other chapters and books of the Bible provide continuity in understanding scriptural principles.
- Memorization
Many people complain that they cannot memorize. They also don't see the value in it since they will soon forget if they do memorize something. The challenge is that they don't see memorization as a means to provide better mediation on the scripture. In the end most of us just do not want to spend the time or effort on this which is mostly due to our laziness and lack of appreciation for God in our life. Scripture memory can start with memorizing the list of the books of the Bible so that you can navigate more quickly. Then it can take the form of writing an outline of a book of the Bible with the highlight thought of each chapter and memorizing that. From there it can take the form of selecting a passage that deals with an area I many be struggling with, and memorizing the verses. Memorizing verses requires daily rigor. Write the verses out on cards. Study the verses at each meal and try to say the verse to yourself. Write out the meaning of the verse on the backside of the card to help connect with the concepts. Listen to audio recordings of the scripture being read. Say the verses to your accountability partner. Even if you "are not good" at memorization, enough rote review will provide you a greater ability to meditate on a scripture and through that apply it. (About 20 years ago I also picked up a workbook on how to improve my memory by using key word and action associations to intentionally retain knowledge. The one that has worked best for me is the Mega Memory course)
- Meditation
It is only through meditation throughout the day on a passage that our mind begins to relate the passage to our core beliefs which drive our actions. The Holy Spirit also uses this time to teach us as we consider the passage and the things we have observed and provides guidance in interpretation. And so a key element to a more righteous life, is meditation on scripture so that we fully understand, appreciate, and absorb the knowledge and through that it begins to affect our decisions.
Application
We make thousands of decisions per day. We tend to often divide up our "decisions between "small" and "large" and "secular" and "spiritual". Then the take the "large" ones and offer those up to God in prayer, but there are many small ones that have a greater impact on our life. Small decisions include setting my schedule for the day. If my goal is to know God and make Him known today, then making sure that I start each day with humbling myself before Him, acknowledging His greatness, confessing actions that are a barrier in my relationship with Him, thanking him for all His good gifts, and then claiming his promises by asking Him to fulfill them. Then we study enough scripture so that we have enough content to meditate on for that day. This foundation affects how I choose my time throughout the day and how I respond to others. If someone makes me wait, I can choose to be excited to have some "God given" time to study my verses, or to be angry with them. If someone is angry with me, I can choose to pray for the hurts that are bringing that anger, or be angry back. I also may choose to focus on peoples needs more by asking them about their spiritual journey so that I can better understand their needs.