Psalms 119: 105 ; Romans 15: 4

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path”.

The Bible is a lamp to our feet; which means it provides direction and guidance in life. “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119: 130)”. The Bible should be our go to manual for any situation. In order to dig deep into God’s word, we have to employ different strategies (from different perspective) in studying it.

No method is better than the other – it all depends on what aspect of the Bible you are studying, and how you plan to go about it. This article presents another method for studying the Bible. It focuses on themes – more like a mini topical study, but a shorter version. For instance, you could study “promises for healing”, “authority of believers”, “men of prayer”, etc. You’ll only need to focus on scriptures that relate directly to your chosen theme.

To effectively study a theme, you need to have three to five predetermined questions you hope to answer by the end of your study. No reference tool is necessarily needed for this method; however, you could use a study Bible or a Bible Concordance. But as usual, you’ll need a notebook and a pen for writing.

Having chosen a theme to study, use the following steps to guide your efforts:

Decide on three to five questions you are seeking to answer. For instance, if you are studying on the authority of believers, you could ask:
- What is the authority given to believers?
- Who gives this authority to believers?
- How is this authority to be used?
Identify/look up Bible references relating to this theme.
- For identifying the Bible references – you could use a study Bible, a Bible Concordance, or just a Google search
Answer your questions based on the Bible references you have studied
Write out how you will apply this theme to your personal life
- ensure your application is practical, possible, and measurable.