Often when I am talking with other moms about Bible study, their responses sound much like what I said over and over in the past.
Perhaps you have said something like it, too?
“I hardly have time to read a devotional every day, how could I possibly find enough time to really study the Bible?”
“I want to study God’s Word, but I do not have an hour or two of peace and quiet every day. I hardly have a moment of peace and quiet!”
God is calling each of us to a deeper knowledge of Him and His Word. He wants us to know about Him, but more importantly, He wants us to truly know Him personally, in relationship. There is a difference between knowing about Him and knowing Him personally. I have found that the more I know about Him, the more I want to truly know Him in a relationship. The actual goal of Bible study is to know Him and be changed to be like Him. The means to that goal is to study His Word with an open heart, allowing Him to change us. We often get caught up in the means and forget about the goal.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life” John 5:39-40.
Digging into the Word of God
I hope to equip you with what I wish I had had when I was nurturing young children at home, and the house was never quiet, and my work was never done. Looking back over my journey of pursuing God, I see that the Bible studies that impacted me most were those where I dug into the Word of God, and, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the help of some trustworthy resources, discovered truth on my own. These times were rich, but infrequent because of the time they required and the responsibilities that filled my days. I did not recognize it at the time, but when I was able to study, I followed a method. If I had been aware of the method and made better use of it, perhaps I could have studied more consistently.
Have a Method
Having a method can make Bible study a reality in your life in the same way that, by a method, you get the laundry done or meals planned. A method is a systematic way of doing something. Whether you have a laundry day or you spread the task out over a number of days each week, you have a system, a method. If a method works well, repeat it until it becomes a routine or habit of thought and action.
What is needed to develop a method of study? The major components involved in study are to:
Pray
ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and open your eyes to truth,
Read
take it slowly and go over it again several times,
Observe
look for details in the text and the context in which it was written,
Connect
gain an understanding of the meaning, and
Keep
apply the verses to your life.
As you develop a method of study, start small, with only two or three consecutive verses. Spread the study out over several days, even weeks. It is more beneficial for you to study a few verses and be changed by what you have learned than to read much but with little understanding and no life change.
What if this week you asked the Lord to show you ten minutes in your day when you could study His Word? Then work slowly through your method. Treasures are there to be discovered!
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