I’m a woman who thrives on routine. I get a thrill of accomplishment as I forge ahead and get things done.
But when it came to my Bible study, this full-speed-ahead approach lacked emotional/spiritual connection and relegated it to just one more thing I could check off my To-Do list. And when I was a young wife and mother, Bible study was just one more burden in an already crowded day. When I did sit down to read, I got little actual studying done and prayers were hastily spoken help me’s. My heart was not in it and I felt guilty about it all the time. Meanwhile, God was patient.
Since then I’ve matured and the kids have grown, and Bible study has been transformed to a slower-paced intentional desire to learn about truth and love and the character of God and the righteousness of His Word. Each time I reach for my cherished leather-bound book with its well-worn gilded edges, there’s an expectancy of comfort and guidance and knowledge instead of merely another task I felt proud to complete or guilty if I didn’t.
My Bible study methods and top priorities
Before I settle down to read in the mornings, I get my husband off to work with a smile—this is my primary mission, after all. This is a real-world application of God’s Word. After the kiss goodbye and the wave from the window, and before I start any household management, my Bible study method is this: I open my Bible and randomly start reading.
Not what you expected, huh? But when I use the flip method (sounds so official, I know, but I just made that up), there’s always something useful and fitting I can apply to my life and immediate circumstances—unless I happen to land on the genealogies, then not so much. {wink}
But one way I’ve gone deeper into studying the Bible is by writing out the Scriptures. I’ll pick entire books like the epistles of Paul or whole chapters from the book of Psalms and transcribe them in a simple, spiral-bound notebook.
When you write out portions of the Bible you’re studying, you’re forced to slow down, and when you slow down, you find concepts and insights you would have easily missed if you had raced over them.
Why I write out the Word of God
Here are three benefits I’ve found to copying Scripture:
- Muscle memory. From eye to mind to hand, this helps with long-term memory.
- Attention to detail. You discover words you hadn’t noticed before.
- Better understanding. When you speak words slowly in your mind, your overall comprehension improves.
And if you can speak the words out loud as you write them, even better. You’re engaging more of your senses to the task at hand.
When writing out Scripture, you might only copy five to ten verses. That might not seem like much compared to other study methods. But those few verses will provide you with more meat than you realize.
As I write out a verse, I speak each word out loud or in my mind at least twice as I lay it on the page. (I keep correction tape handy because, inevitably, I will make a mistake.) I take note of unfamiliar words I can look up in Strong’s Concordance to further help me understand what is being said.
“Now . . . may . . . the . . . Lord . . . direct . . . your . . . hearts . . . into . . . the . . . love . . . of . . . God . . . and . . . into . . . the . . . patience . . . of . . . Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5 NKJV).
Hmm. I know direct in this verse means “to guide.” It’s not unfamiliar, but I look it up anyway.
DIRECT: G2720—to straighten fully, to guide.
Wow! I never thought of it quite like that. My heart gets bent out of shape by worldly distractions and the sins that so easily beset me. God’s desire is to straighten my heart out for me so I can have a closer communion with Him and love others as He would.
Oftentimes, when you read passages quickly, you forget what you’ve read just as fast. But writing out the Scriptures helps keep the message in your mind longer, encouraging you to mull it over all day long. I spend more time on fewer passages writing out the Scriptures, but I gain more substance when I do. And the poetic majesty of many verses leaves me in awe as I reread them again and again with a smile, thanking God for His life-giving Word.
Bible study no longer has the same burden associated with it as it used to when I was younger and burdened by so many things (and here was Bible study, just one more thing I felt compelled to do). Now, whether I randomly read or write it out five verses, Bible study is like a talk with a friend, a warm cup of tea, and a light in a very dark world.
Abiding in the Vine,
~ Gleniece
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I’m thrilled to have you joining us for our Women Wielding The Word series, Gleniece! Thank you so much for sharing with us how writing out Scripture impacts you.
I’m thrilled to be a part of this worthwhile series. Thank you for asking me! Have a great day, my friend.