Read the Bible EffectivelyNäide

Ways to read the Bible effectively

On the last day of this plan, we're getting practical. During the devotion on Day 1, we discussed how, at times, you can read the Word only to forget what you actually read a few minutes later.

Let's see how we can avoid that. How can you effectively take in the Word so it reaches your heart, so you don't forget it again, and so it becomes a revelation, renewing and transforming you?

The Holy Spirit is the key to this. He teaches and brings to remembrance (John 14:26). Therefore, always ask the Holy Spirit to help you remember and understand what you read.

When you want to read the Bible effectively, you can pick a particular Bible text or Bible portion that appeals to you.

You are going to transcribe that text or section on paper. Every word you transcribe, you immediately say out loud.

We call this reciting; you are repeating something you have read. Do this several times in a row.

When you can pronounce it easily, continue memorizing the text. You repeat each word, each phrase, until you can easily recite the part without thinking. You have now memorized it.

But keep in mind that if you do this once, what you learn will eventually fade away. Therefore, it is best to allow what you have learned to incubate and resonate within you for at least a week! Be sure to spend the entire week with it and repeat it over and over again until you can dream it, so to speak.

This way, you don't store it in your short-term memory but in your long-term memory. It can also sink into your heart when it is in the latter. Then it will transform you. And you will start acting on it.

Does this sound like a lot of work?
No worries.

Start small.
Just start with one to two Bible verses a week.
If it comes easily to you, do more.

Another method is to pick a Bible story or section and study it thoroughly. You choose a story and transcribe it sentence by sentence.

Then, you look at all the references that go with that text. You write down these texts and their references. Also, look at the context, background, to whom and where and when it was written, etc.

In this way, you constantly create a better understanding and insight into what you are reading.

Another good method is to study the Bible, for example, by topic. Then, you look up each text related to the subject and start studying it. Before you know it, you will understand a lot more in that area than if you occasionally read a book or listen to a sermon on that topic.

Choose what suits you
These ways are just examples and tools to help you move forward. Of course, you may develop and apply your own methods. Do what works. Be intensively active with God's Word. Then the Word will come alive in you, and you will never lose it. It will become part of you, and it will deepen your knowledge and understanding.

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This Bible plan is based on a part of the FREE book Living in the Fullness. Order it online and only pay shipping.