Bible Study Made Easy: My Routine + Must-Have Resources 🕊️✨
- Sara Silva
- Sep 17, 2024
- 6 min read
As I started my faith journey this year, one of the things that really made me nervous was reading the Bible. I always knew about the theoretical parts related to faith, but for many years I refused to put it into practice. Even though I went to Christian schools for most of my life, including the college where I got my degree, I still avoided my relationship with Christ.
It wasn't until January this year that I truly began investing time with my relationship with Christ. At first, I used the Bible that I had kept in my junk drawer for years since I got it my freshman year of college. I used the Bible App, which has phenomenal resources for people that are starting their journey or for those that don't want to spend any extra money on studies, commentaries, and other great resources.
After I lost my job in January, I found myself in a time of waiting. I still read my Bible and finished a short devotional book that I got from Walmart, but it wasn't until I found a devotional book that reflected my current life stage that I was able to find a Bible study routine that really worked for me.
In this post, I'll be sharing the steps that I do every time I want to read my Bible and spend some time with Jesus. On days that I don't have much time, or am struggling to focus, I may still use the Bible App and their daily devotionals. On times where I can truly devote 30-40 minutes to read and study the Word, I'll do the following routine.
The Tools
Of course, to get started, I wanted to share a list of the tools that I use for this study. As I mentioned, if you don't want to spend any extra money, you can use the Bible App. It's free and it has a ton of resources, including Bible studies and daily devotionals with even guided prayers that you can use to get closer to Jesus. If you'd like to use the tools that I use, I have put a link on the images below and you can click and it will direct you to my Amazon Storefront where I share all my Bible study essentials.
The Bible that I've been using is the She Reads Truth Bible. I was gifted this by one of my best friends for my birthday as he wanted to support my journey finding my way back to Christ. It's amazing! It has lots of space for journaling, which I love doing (above I placed a picture of a spread I made for Psalm 72)! It also comes with reading plans, study guides, and small devotionals that you can use. I'd say that if you don't want to spend any extra money on devotionals or fancy guides, this Bible or any study Bible is a great place to start.
Not only am I a big fan of journaling, I also enjoy writing in general. I'm one of those people that truly enjoys note-taking, whether during class at school or during our church's preaching sessions. Taking notes during these events is a great way to make sure you remember everything that you're learning, and it also helps to make sure that you're paying attention to the key parts of the preacher's words. This journal is one that I began using for general creative journaling, but because it's very small and it lays flat, I wanted to use it for my Bible notes as well. Since getting the Bible with a lot of space on the sides, I don't always take notes on this journal still, but I still use it for general Bible notes, preachers' notes, and others.
As I mentioned before, finding a devotional book that really talked about topics related to the phase where I'm currently in life. When I heard about this book while watching Ashley Hetherington's channel, I really wanted to purchase it. This book has short, 100-day devotions that you can use and it also contains questions that help you journal and think about what you've just read. I truly enjoy this format because a lot of times it helps me to think about situations in the past that I have long forgotten where it reminds me of God's love and providence.
My Bible Study Routine
I try to start and finish my routine with prayer. I'm a firm believer in taking some time to settle down and to invite the Holy Spirit into my study session. The Bible talks about how the Holy Spirit teaches us things and helps us to remember the things that Jesus has talked about (John 14:25-26), so who better to have as our helper during the study?
Once I'm done with that part, I'll open the devotional book that I'm currently using and I'll find the chapter that it is referring to on that day. The way that Ashley's book is designed is that it has a daily theme and a Bible verse that goes along with it. Because I want to read more than a single verse daily (which you're more than welcome to do if you don't have a lot of time), I go to my Bible and read the entire chapter, taking notes and journaling as I go along.
Journaling and taking notes of the verses I'm reading is really helpful for me to remember what I had just read. Fun fact, in the Psalm 72 journal spread I've shown above, I've been able to remember what the chapter is talking about because I took time to journal and reflect on it. For some the whole journaling and drawing process may be too much, but for me it's a great time of reflection and learning as well.
Once I'm done reading the entire chapter and taking notes, sometimes I'll refer to a commentary as well if I have more time whenever I have more questions about certain verses or maybe even certain words that were used for those verses. As I'm done with this part, I'll go back into my devotional book and read the text for the day. I'll also take notes and highlight anything that I find interesting as I'm reading. At the end of the devotional text, Ashley has a prayer and some questions that you can use to reflect on the reading. I'll take some time to reflect on the questions and answer them, which also helps me to remember special moments in my life that make the "waiting time" more worth it.
Once I'm done, I'll pray once again, thanking Jesus for the time, for the things He has taught me, and place any other prayer requests or worries in His hands.
I know that there are many ways to read and study the Bible, but this is a routine that has worked really well for me and I'm so happy. I'm not going to lie to you and say that I do this every single day, or that I'm always having a great time doing it. At the end of the day, we're still humans, and some days are tougher than others. Sometimes we want to get home from work and simply lay down, or go home from class and not read anything else for the end of the day. However, I hope you use this as an encouragement today: Jesus wants us to invest into our relationship with Him, but He knows our struggles. Instead of thinking about this routine as a to-do or a chore you have to do, think about how you can use this time to lay any worries or struggles at His feet, while talking to someone who genuinely loves and cares about you.
Like always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave it in the comments. If you'd like to talk about Jesus or if you're looking for a fellow Jesus-loving friend to join your journey, feel free to reach out as well in the comments or in my DMs.
Thank you for your love and support and I truly hope that this was able to help you.
Much love💙
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