Overwhelmed By Bible Study – Use S.O.A.P

Bible study is an important discipline that can help us grow in our walk with Christ. But it can be a little overwhelming, especially to new Christians.

But studying scripture does not have to be an impossible task. You can make Bible study fun, productive, and edifying if you …

Just Use S.O.A.P.
(Scripture … Observation … Application … Prayer)

This simple Bible study formula can help give structure, direction, and purpose to your time with the Word. Let’s take a look at how this formula works …

Scripture: Start with scripture. We should pick a chapter from a book of scripture that we want to study. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Reading and studying one chapter a day consistently will provide big progress over time. Now we should pick one or two of the verses in that chapter, focusing on the verse or two that God is pressing on our hearts. 

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. 

Let’s write that verse or two down in our Bible study journals. Just the act of writing will slow us down, giving us more time to meditate on God’s word. Also, the physical process of writing will activate our brains, allowing us to think deeper on our selected Bible verses.

Observation: Next we write in our study journals the important thoughts from our selected verses in our own words. What are our personal insights about the scripture? What connections can we make to other Bible verses or to our lives in general?

Apply: Now it’s time to apply what we’ve learned from the first two steps. The knowledge and wisdom we’ve gained from “S” and “O” are useless without application to our real lives. 

James 4:17
To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.

What actions or behaviors does the selected verse instruct us to cultivate? How does God’s wisdom, revealed through the selected Bible verse, shine light onto a situation in our lives? And how do we need to change and align with God’s desires so that we can live a more pleasing life to glorify Christ?

Pray: We can’t pray powerfully without desire. But desire for what? Our day’s Bible study should help sculpt our desire for God and Christlike attributes. After writing down how we can apply a verse’s wisdom to our lives, we should pray for God’s help in becoming more Christlike and living the lessons learned from the day’s Bible study. We should write down this prayer in our study journals, meditating and praying for God to change our hearts and increase our desire to be Christlike.

So, let’s spend more time in Bible study and let’s use the S.O.A.P method when we need an easy, productive way to mature as Christians.