As a Christian, if you want to grow in your faith, I believe there are four things you should do: 1) read your Bible, 2) pray, 3) worship God, and 4) live out the truths of Scripture. If you do these four things regularly, your faith will look like Samson’s biceps.
In my book Raw Material, I wrote about why each of these is important to the Christian’s life. Today I want to show how you can incorporate these four elements into a simple Bible study method that’s perfect for Christians at any stage in their journey.
This Bible study method has four steps and you only need to remember these words: Read, Pray, Worship, and Live.
A simple Bible study method: Read. Pray. Worship. Live. Share on XRead the Text
Take out your Bible, find a passage, and start reading. It’s that simple. Spend time reading God’s Word. If you need help understanding a passage, refer to your Study Bible or commentary.
This part can be as simple or in-depth as you want it to be. But, don’t read a single verse. Make sure you’re reading at least a paragraph, section, or chapter, to avoid taking anything out of context.
Pray the Text
Now, use that same passage as the basis or starting point for your prayer time.
What stood out in the passage? Are you struggling with any of the areas addressed in your reading? How about someone else you know?
No matter what you read, there should be something you can use to guide your prayers.
Worship with the Text
We worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). And our worship is fueled by our knowledge of God. This is the next step in your study.
What does the passage teach you about God? How does knowing this truth help you trust him more? What truths in the passage motivate you to worship God?
Live Out the Text
The final step is applying the passage to your life. Reading the Bible is useless if we do not seek to live out its truths.
What is there in the passage that you can apply to your life? What areas of your life are being challenged and need to change after reading the passage?
Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, ask God for help and begin taking steps to live out Scripture’s commands.
A Sample Study
While straightforward, I want to show you what it looks like to use this Bible study method. Click the link below to download a sample study where I use James 1:19-27 to walk through this method.
Your Turn
You should be able to read any passage in the Bible and use the above steps as a basis for study. While not the only way to study the Bible, it’s simple and effective.
Weekly Study Prompts
Your challenge this week is to use this method in your own studies. Let me know how it worked out for you by leaving a comment below or sending me an email.
Here are your five passages for you to study:
- James 1:2-8
- Psalm 1
- Matthew 6:25-34
- Joshua 7
- Philippians 2:1-11
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