There are many different ways to study the Bible and many great Bible study tools out there.  But all the study methods come back to a few simple steps.  At it’s simplest, studying the Bible is about 4 steps, Observation, Interpretation, Application and Prayer.

In Observation, you ask questions of the text to understand what the text says.  You might ask who is this addressed to?  What issues were they dealing with that prompted this to be written?  What does this particular word mean?  Who is the author?  What were they going through when they wrote this?  Think of the who, what, when, where and how type of questions.

In Interpretation, you ask what does this text mean.  Why did the author write this?  What is the purpose of the text?  How would the original audience have understood this?

In Application, we ask 'what does this text mean to us?'  One key to application is to understand that the text won’t mean something to us that’s completely unconnected to what it meant to the original audience.  This application answers questions like 'What does this mean for us today?', 'How can I live this out?', and 'What difference should this make in my life right now?'  Using the acronym SPACEPETS can help you discover the application. Ask:

• Sin: Is there a sin to confess?
• Promise: Is there a promise to claim?
• Attitude: Is there an attitude to change?
• Command: Is there a command to obey?
• Example: Is there an example to follow?
• Prayer: Is there a prayer to pray?
• Error: Is there an error to avoid?
• Truth: Is there a truth to believe?
• Something: Is there something to thank God for?

In Prayer, we ask God to help us put what we’ve learned into practice.