How can you get the most out of your Bible-reading?
There are ways of noticing more in your reading, understanding it better and thinking about how to apply it. Try some of these methods and see what works for you. After a while, try another one so as not to become stale.
Spend more time on this and it becomes Bible study.
Before anything else, praying for God's help in understanding what you read.
e.g. Psalm 119:18 - Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in your law.
Just read, listening for what God is saying to you.
Listen rather than (or as well as) read.
There are lots of audio Bibles
Some personalities will get more out of listening than reading. For others it will be the opposite.
Use a Bible reading plan with notes that explain the passage.
Write little notes in the margins of your Bible.
The Swedish Method i.e. symbols in the margins
a light bulb for insights you have
a question mark for things you do not understand
an arrow for things you need to action in your own life
Write out the passage.
Writing by hand is more valuable than typing.
Paraphrase the passage.
You have to ponder its meaning before you can faithfully put it into other words.
Write down a conversation with God about the passage. Write what insights you have and what questions arise and just see what God says to you.
Write your own commentary on the passage.
Write a series of questions that would help others understand this passage?
To write good questions, you have to have a good understading yourself of what the passage is really about. Writing them will cause you to answer your own questions.
What is A HEAR Journal? - Robby Gallaty (Replicate)
The Old Testament as well as the New Testament.
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Ask God what he wants you to read.
Just a very few verses.
Meditate on them.
Several chapters or a whole book.
Valuable for understanding the flow of the teaching and noticing things that are repeated and emphasised.
Those first receiving one of Paul's letters (for example) would not have rea d few lines then put it away until next time. They would have read the whole letter.
Different types of studies
Character studies - all you can learn about a Bible character.
A theme - what does the Bible say in a number of different places about a particular theme e.g. forgivingness, money, Jesus' character, End Times...
A word study - how does the Bible use a particular word and what is its significance?
If you spend more time, you start asking and answering questions and writing things down, then your Bible reading has progressed to Bible study. See a list of Bible study methods.