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Practical Bible Study Suggestions


®       Set A Special Time

Set a special time each day to study.  The time selected will depend on your personal schedule or preference. Some prefer to study early in the morning when they are fresh and some find their best time to be late at night.   Whatever time you select, set it apart as a regular appointment time with God to study His Word.


®       Select A Special Place

Select a place that is as free from noise and interruption as possible. Be sure to have good lighting to enable you to read without eye strain. If it is possible, select a place where you can leave your study materials, i.e., Bible, pencil, paper, and any Bible study books you may have. This way you do not have to spend time each day collecting these items before you start your study.


®       Start A Special Way

Start each study session with prayer. Ask God to open your understanding so you will be able to receive His Word. The Psalmist David prayed:


Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord; give me understanding according to thy Word.  (Psalm 119:169)


PREREQUISITES TO BIBLE STUDY


A prerequisite is something you must do before you can do something else.


The Bible is the Word of God. It is not like any other book and you cannot study it as you do other books. There are prerequisites; things you must do before you can begin if you are to understand the deep spiritual things of God.  If you want to understand the Bible you must first know the Author of the Bible. Jesus said:


He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. (John 8:47)


You cannot understand God's Words without knowing God. How do you come to know God?  Jesus told Nicodemus, who was a religious leader in the nation of Israel:


Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)


Even though a0 man may be educated, learned, cultured, and even religious, but the understanding of Scripture will be hidden from him until his spiritual eyes have been opened by the new birth.  Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can these things be?" He did not understand what Jesus meant. Jesus answered and said:


Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  (John 3:10)


Nicodemus was a religious leader of Israel, yet he did not know about being born again. 


How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (John 3:4)


Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the new birth of which He was speaking was a spiritual birth. This new birth experience comes through faith in Jesus Christ. You must confess you are a sinner. You must believe Jesus died for your sins, ask forgiveness for your sins, and accept Him as your personal Savior.


The person who has not been born again cannot receive the truth of God's Words:


But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)


The unsaved man may admire the Bible for its literary beauty and value. He may study it historically or geographically. But the spiritual truths of God's Word will remain hidden until he receives forgiveness of sin:


For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)


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