Studying the Bible Using the SOAP Method
One of the most impactful things that I do on a daily basis is to study God’s Word. Without consistent time in the Bible, I find it so difficult to stay on track with what God has called me to do and who He has called me to be.
Last year, I read through the Bible chronologically. If you are interested in doing the same, you can read more about that here.
I enjoyed reading through the entire Bible because it gave me a clearer picture of the Bible as a whole. I now know how the story unfolds as God planned it. If you’ve never taken the time to read through the whole Bible, I encourage you to do it at least once in your life.
This year I wanted to focus in on short passages of the Bible that would help me in my daily life. A few years ago I stumbled upon a website that offered a plan that would help you read through the Bible in 90 days. Another aspect of that plan called for using the SOAP method to journal about what we read everyday. You can read more about that here.
As 2014 came to a close, and I began considering how I wanted to read the Bible this year, I decided to use the SOAP method. Let me give you a brief summary of how it works.
S – Scripture – Read the passage for the day and choose one or two verses to write out.
O – Observation – Write down what stands out to you in those verses. Take note of any promises, commands, or instruction you find in the verses.
A – Application – What is God saying to you through these verses? How can you apply them to your life? Are there any changes you need to make in your life because of what you’ve read?
P – Prayer – Pray and ask God to help you apply what you’ve learned. Confess any sin that was revealed and commit to turn from that sin.
This month I’ve been using devotionals from Missions Mosaic magazine. They have a chapter to read and then verses to focus on. I don’t always use the suggested focus verses, though. Sometimes the Holy Spirit guides me to other verses in the chapter that are more applicable to my life.
I will probably continue to use those devotionals some this year, but I plan to also incorporate other devotional or Bible study resources. The goal is to stay in God’s Word and continue to learn and put into practice what is being revealed to me each day.
This method does not need any fancy tools to do it. Just a notebook, pen, and Bible are all you really need. You do not even need any devotional guide. You can choose to study a chapter a day from one book of the Bible. The SOAP method really is versatile.
Right now I am using a planner from Yellow Paper House to record my entries.
I keep this journal in my Chic Sparrow notebook. I have other journals in this notebook that I’ll share with you later.
I hope this will inspire you to study God’s Word more in depth this year.
Leave a comment below and share what you are doing to study the Bible this year.
Hi!!! Found your posting through pintrest and this is exactly what I needed!!! Yay for you and anyone else who has read the whole bible, I haven’t gotten that far. I always get side tracked :-/ hopefully, this year I can get a better grip on that. Love your SOAP way, I’m Def going to try that out! Thanks for sharing and it’s a blessing that I found your blog!! Thank you and God Bless
Celena,
So glad you found me on Pinterest! I hope you’ll be able to find a way to study the Bible that fits your needs. Let me know how it goes!
If you want to stay on track reading the Bible through then get a One Year or Bible in a Year format which makes the job so much easier as it will start you with Gen 1, Prov1, Ps1 and Matt 1. Start at the current date and don’t worry about what you missed. My advice is start with the NKJ. You can read it every year by using a different translation or format. If you use a regular Bible then get one with no notes and read about 4 pages a day. Where you finish put the next day’s date. This is separate from study. Use a good study Bible for that, the one you carry to church and I don’t recommend tablets. You want to be able to underline and annotate.
Great ideas! I agree starting where you are is a great way to get started reading the Bible.
Hi Jennifer, thank you for the post. In was doing the same but didn’t have a namd for it. I now have something to quote. SOAP.
The thing is, life always has a way to steer you away from your focus. So it’s timely that I bumped into your blog from Pinterest. I will be picking up the habit that I left off.
Thank you.
Nyle
Nyle, Thanks for stopping by! Glad to hear you are going to be studying the Bible again.
Thank you for sharing the SOAP method. Actually writing things out would be more beneficial than just thinking it or verbalizing it. That way you could go back in future to observe what you learned and/or refresh your memory. Although those are helpful in writing things out.
Ericka, I agree that writing things out helps me to remember things I learn better. I love flipping back through my journal and remembering what all I’ve learned this month.
I’m reading the Chronological Bible now and really want to read it through! That’s my goal! Thanks for the suggestions on SOAP!
Hey, Kelly! I’m glad you saw this. I know you’ll read the Bible all the way through. The Chronological Bible is a great choice!