Has your Bible study become routine? Do you find yourself glancing at the clock to see if you’re done yet? Did you make a resolution to read through the Bible in a year or study something new this year, but find yourself never making the time?
Here are 30 tips to get you back on track.
- Pray and ask God to teach you.
- Unplug from social media.
- Create a playlist of your favorite “study” music and only listen to it when you’re studying.
- Hide your smart phone while you study, or at least enable “do not disturb.”
- Leave your books,favorite pens, laptop and notebook on a desk or in a corner, so it’s always ready.
- Start now.
- Set realistic goals for when and how long to study. If you only have 30 minutes/week, don’t resolve to study an hour/day.
- Keep a list of questions to be solved. My favorite study questions usually begin “Why” or “How”.
- Study with a specific question in mind. Stop only after you’ve made progress answering it.
- Write everything down, don’t try to study in your head.
- Keep a blog or a journal of what you’re learning.
- Study a book or passage that speaks to an issue you’re dealing with right now.
- Check your attitude (“I’ll practice” vs “It’s too hard;” “I can learn” vs “I’m probably wrong”).
- Create a plan of small “next steps” and work through it one at a time.
- Study the whole, then the parts, then the whole.
- Think about your passage while exercising, driving or doing dishes.
- Find a “study buddy” and tell each other what you learn each week.
- Study with your study buddy at the same coffee shop or kitchen table.
- Gather a small discussion group to talk about what you’re learning.
- Use more than one translation of the Bible.
- If you know a foreign language, study your passage in that language.
- Learn to use an analytical outline.
- Read a new book on how to study the bible.
- Take advantage of bible study software. My favorite is e-sword.
- Learn to use a new online tool from a Bible Study website.
- Read a commentary by one of your favorite author or a new author.
- Read a commentary you’re likely to disagree with and figure out why.
- Listen to a sermon MP3 on your passage and take notes.
- Learn some New Testament Greek.
- Find a couple of bible teachers who challenge you and listen to their teaching.
- Pray and thank God for what He is teaching you.