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A Stress-Free Guide to Studying the Bible

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Studying the scriptures and learning the verses is no easy task. Read on to learn how to study the bible without stressing out here.

A third of Americans never pick up a Bible on their own. Why do you think this is?

Many people truly struggle with how to read and understand the Bible, so they never try. Those who do try to stick to reading plans rarely ever finish them.

Overall, it seems like the Bible is just impossible to tackle. If you feel this way too, keep reading. We’ll cover how to study the Bible so that you actually understand what’s going on.

  1. Set Aside Time

The first thing that you need to do to truly absorb all that the Bible has to offer is set aside Bible study time. Whether it’s every night before bed or every morning after you wake up, you should establish a routine.

Making your Bible study time constant every day will help establish the routine. Try to keep this time the same every day so that you can get into the practice of having reflection time while you read.

  1. Prepare Ahead of Time

Nothing will make your Bible study time feel more productive than having highlighters and pens ready for marking. If you use your writing utensils while you read, you’ll absorb more of the material.

Feel free to sketch while you read and highlight your favorite passages. Mark any questions you have or write reminders. These markings are made to help you understand the readings.

“If you’re looking for a platform that can help you with organizing your Bible study, we recommend Scripture Notes which contains the LDS scriptures including the King James Version of the Bible. It’s got powerful search features to help with your study.” 

  1. Observe

Now that you’ve started reading, you should start by observing the passages that you’re looking at. What do you think the passages are saying?

While you’re observing, you should be sure to answer the following questions: who, what, where, and when? This will help you understand the basic story before you try to understand the deeper meaning within Biblical passages.

Use your first read-through of the passage to understand the story first. Then, you can move on to interpret it.

  1. Interpretation

Differentiate literal meanings from metaphorical meanings based on the context that you see as you’re reading through the Bible. As you do this, you should keep the cultural context in mind.

There may be many words and terms that you’re not familiar with. You should be sure to do your research and look them up before you assume that everything is literal and applicable to the modern day.

  1. Application

One of the best parts of the Bible is how the stories can still affect our lives now even though they were from long ago. As you read through these stories, you should try to apply them to your life currently.

Think about how each passage affects your relationship with God, affects your relationship with others, or affects your relationship with yourself.

Understanding How to Study the Bible

Now that we’ve covered the five steps to mastering how to study the Bible, you should get your highlighters out. It’s time to put these skills to the test and see what you can get out of the scripture.

For more informational articles like these, check out the rest of our blog.