5 Approaches To Have As You Study The Word of God

A Practical Guide to Deeper Bible Study

There is a strange scripture in the Bible.

“The word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.”

— 1 Samuel 3:1 (NKJV)

One can easily assume that those people didn’t have the Bible like we do today. Indeed, today, it costs a little data to not only access the very oracles of God, but to also have countless Bible study tools, commentary, translations, and the famous “Strong’s Numbers” that link the root meaning of the words in the Bible back to the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts.

But is the word of God more prevalent today than it was back then?

To Whom Much Is Given

Back then, they didn’t have the resources that we have now. That’s why God would choose one person as a prophet and reveal His Word to him for the season and for a context.

The keyword that has been used in that scripture is revelation; there was no widespread revelation. Other translations render it open vision. In Strong’s Numbers, this word means oracle, mental sight, dream or vision. Thus, having the written word does not mean having the widespread revelation.

Today, we have to approach revelation from a personal angle by asking ourselves:

• What is God’s revelation to me about the recent past?
• What is God’s revelation to me for my season?
• What is God’s revelation to me about my purpose in life?
• What is God’s revelation to me about my most pressing needs?

That revelation is found in the written word of God, the Logos. It comes because of our study and exposure to scripture in order to get closer to God.For us to get the most out of the written word of God, we need to approach our study of the Word with a certain mental attitude. I believe that when if we approach our study with the right mental attitude, our revelation of God’s word in our lives would tremendously increase.

1. Reverence for the word of God

Did you know that one of the things taken for granted the most today is access to the Word of God?    We are sure we will have it again tomorrow. Stories abound of people who do not have access to the Bible.  They have to be smuggled for them to look at, touch and read them. Some people are forced to commit the logos to memory because if they are found with the Bible, they would be killed.

Now, it is great to have the Bible around us all the time, but the flip side is that we have become too familiar with it. We approach it with nonchalance, without appreciating that it is the very spoken Word of God.

The Reverence Test

Here are some things to gauge your reverence to the word of God:

• Are you reading it?  Not reading the word of God is a clear indication that you have no reverence for it.  Imagineyour boss, your president or someone in authority sends you a text or an email, but you ignore it. Probably it is because you have no respect for them or for what they are saying.
• Are you casual in reading the Word? If you do not think that the Word means much, you will just skim through it to fulfill all righteousness.
• Are you structured and planned in studying the word of God? When we hold the word of God in high esteem, we get structured in our approach to studying it.
•  Is studying the word of God a priority compared to your work, your social media, leisure and so on?
• When you finally get to reading it, do you read to finish reading or read to listen to God’s voice?

2. Curiosity

You can approach the word of God with the excitement of a treasure hunter or with a tired, bored posture. Do you look forward to reading the word of God because you know you will get something out of it?

When you do this, you are approaching the Word with a curious and expectant heart. In fact, because you have reverence for it, you have allocated ample time to studying the word. Just like a scientist is excited about the projects that they are working on, you are also excited about how you will connect with God through His Word.

3. Belief

The Word is alive and active. The Bible, though filled with many stories, is not a storybook. It is the very word of God. Jesus told us of how powerful His word is when He says in Mathew 24:35,

Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my word will by no means pass away.

In short, God’s word is potent, and we need to believe it.

Therefore, we need to approach the word of God trusting, believing and giving it the credence it deserves.

Thus, reading the word of God without believing it is, in my opinion, a waste of time for a child of God. Other people can read. I have seen Muslims, atheists and scientists quote the Bible so erroneously because they do not believe it. We shouldn’t be part of that group.

4. Studious Posture

If all the above is true, how then do we approach the gleaning of the word of God? We do it with so much effort like it is a treasure, the very life that we have been given. We do not just skim through it; we study it daily and ravenously. How much do we miss when we do not study the word of God?

I dare say, as I have seen in my life, you could spend an entire month on just one book. There was a time I was studying the Epistles of Peter, and it took me more than a month. There are references, cross-references, definitions, original texts, commentaries and all. I did this because I wanted to acquaint myself fully with God’s word.

To prepare well for bible study, you must have:
a notebook,
A dictionary,
Several scripture versions, 
Strong’s numbers,
Commentaries and so on. You can even have the maps of the places mentioned.

For instance, when the Bible says Jonah walked in the city of Nineveh, you could study that and find out how big Nineveh was in order to appreciate the work Jonah did. Study. Do not just skim through.

5. Investment

It is not true that every time you read the Bible, you will find a major revelation. At times, all you are doing is just reading the book of Numbers or going through genealogies. No major revelation or take away or practical application to work on. It might feel as if that time you spent reading the word of God was just a waste.

That mindset needs to change with the knowledge that God’s word is living and active. You might not see or feel what is going on inside of you, but as sure as the sun is out there, the word of God is working in you silently but surely.

It is better you read the word and feel nothing than not read the word and regress spiritually. When you feel like you are not hearing anything from God or that what you have read or studied did not add value to you, just remember this: The Bible says that the word of God will not come back to him void, it will have to accomplish that which it was sent to do.

Thus, do not give up! Keep at it!

PS: I honestly need to apply all these. Not that I have arrived, but I am a work in progress. Of the above, which ones do you apply in your Bible study?

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