How To S.O.A.P. Study
by Charmain Hibberd
Marketing Assistant (Writer), CBN Europe
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“It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”
Matthew 4:4 MSG
Read or Study?
There often comes a time in a Christian’s journey of faith that merely reading the Bible doesn’t seem to cut it anymore.
We become familiar with what the Bible says but we want more. We want to know what what we’re reading truly means.
This leads us from reading the Bible to studying it.
Today I would love to share with you to a method of studying the Bible that I have found to be helpful in digging a little deeper into the scriptures.
The S.O.A.P. Method
You may or may not have heard of this technique for dissecting the scriptures, let me explain…
S – Scripture
The first part of this study method simply requires you to select a part of the Bible that you would like to look at. This could range from a single verse that you want to delve into or a wider chunk of text, perhaps a whole chapter. Whatever it is, start with identifying a part of the Bible that intrigues you and that you want to know more about.
O – Observation
Secondly, read through the selected scripture and make notes of the observations you have made from the text. What is different about this part of the Bible? What stands out to you? What really struck you as you read? Don’t forget to write down your observations, this is key for the next stage!
A – Application
Thirdly, ask yourself this – how can I apply what I have read and observed from this particular part of scripture to my life? It’s important to look at scripture in light of how it applies to our everyday lives. This part of the study enables you to take a closer look at the text and identify just how the scripture applies to you, personally. Make a note of your thoughts here, too. It is great to be able to look back on old notes and see what God was saying to you in different seasons of your life!
P – Prayer
Finally, once you have read, observed and applied, take some time to pray. Pray about what God has revealed to you, for you. The revelations you may have received are likely to be personal to you so take some time to thank God for speaking to you, ask Him any questions you have about what you have studied and listen for His response. Ask God to help you apply what you have read during your study time to your life so that your studies don’t remain as words on a page, but come to life in your everyday.
Give It A Go!
There are many ways to study the Bible, the S.O.A.P. method is just one. Why not try this method for a week and see what results you get – when we take a new approach to studying the Bible, we often see things that we never have before in the scriptures.
