So how do you study?

This post is targeted to all my Christian friends. I need some advice from all of you and I am hoping to receive some good direction and recommendations. The question that I am posing to you is a simple one. How do you study the Bible? This question seems so simple to ask and yet so hard for some to grasp and acquire the necessary skill set. We all know we should be doing so and in some cases find guilt if one who professes to be a Christian fails to actively pursue this most basic of disciplines.

Yet, I find that this is one of the most difficult questions for me to answer. Sure I could give the typical answer and say that you should read a certain amount of chapters each day. Perhaps you could even find a reading plan that will guide you through the entire Bible over a specific period of time. These are basic answers that I am sure we have all given to this question. However, I find that these suggestions may indeed get me through the literature yet I am left feeling quite shallow in my understanding of His Word.

I do not want to read the Bible as though it were a mere chore that Christians are expected to perform. I want to read it from a seeker standpoint. I want to obtain a deep understanding of how the words apply to my life and what I am to glean from them. I listen to many gifted pastors and teachers and would love to have the ability to grasp the text and extract life application as they seemingly do with ease. No, I have not attended any seminary classes nor do I plan to. I appreciate the extent these people have gone to obtain a thorough education in the Scripture. However, I also believe that God wants all of us to find meaning in His Word and to be able to do so without a prerequisite being countless hours of sitting under a seminary professor.

So this brings me to the question that I have for all you who will read this post. How do you study the Bible? What are some tips that you have found work well for you in gaining understanding? What versions of the Bible have you found to aid your understanding? Do you use other resources to focus your study efforts and if so what are those? Do you find being in a small group/bible study group helps you focus more and obtain understanding?

So take a few minutes and comment on this post if you would please. I would love to get your feedback and hopefully take some of your suggestions and put them into practice in my own study time. Once again you can comment right here in this blog by clicking on the comment link below, respond to this post via Facebook, or tweet back to me from the link I provide on my Twitter feed.