Going Deeper
How do I read the Bible?

Here are some practical tips on how to read the Bible. (summarised from “Questions of Life” Alpha material by Nicky Gumbel http://uk.alpha.org/)

If we are going to set aside time to read the Bible, we have to plan ahead. If we don’t plan it, we will never do it.

It is wise to start with a realistic goal.  Don’t be over ambitious.  It is better to spend a few minutes every day than to spend an hour and a half the first day and then to give up.  If you have never studied the Bible before, you might like to set aside seven minutes every day.  I am sure that if you do that regularly, you will steadily increase it.  The more you hear God’s word, the more you will want to hear it.

Mark tells us that Jesus got up early and went off to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35).  It is important to try to find somewhere we can be on our own.

You may want to take a hot drink (or something to wake you up), the Bible, your diary and a notebook.  Use the notebook to write down prayers and also things you think God may be saying to you.  Use your diary as an aid to pray about each stage of your day, and also for jotting down things that come to your mind.

Start by asking God to speak to you through the passage you are reading.

Then read the passage.  If you are a beginner, I suggest reading a few verses of one of the Gospels each day (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John)You might find it a help to use Bible reading notes, which are available at most Christian bookshops.

Ask yourself three questions:
1) What does it say? Read it at least once and, if necessary, compare different translations.

2) What does it mean? What did it mean to the person who first wrote it and those who first read it? (This is where the notes may be helpful).

3) How does it apply to me, my family, my work, my neighbours, the society around me? (This is the most important stage.  It is when we see the relevance to our own lives that Bible reading becomes so exciting and we become conscious that we are hearing God’s voice).

Finally, we must put into practice what we hear from God.  Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) As the nineteenth-century preacher D L Moody pointed out, "The Bible was not given to improve our knowledge, it was given to change lives."