How to read the Bible
The three-column Bible study method
A simple way to study any passage of Scripture: read it, put it in your own words, and ask what it's telling you. All you need is a page divided into three columns.
Watch how it works in under three minutes. Open on YouTube
Before you start: pray
Pray to God for wisdom and knowledge to understand and apply His word every day. Thank Him for who He is, and bring whatever is on your mind to Him.
God will often reveal things about your own life while you read Scripture. Anything God reveals to you is important, so I recommend journaling each session and writing down what God is telling you. It doesn't always match what you're reading, and it's often personal. It takes time to tell the difference between what the Scripture is saying and what God is telling you for your own life.
Test everything against the word. God will never tell you to do something contrary to the Bible.
Column 1
Read and write the passage
Read the Scripture several times, then write the verses down. Break a large passage into smaller sections so it's manageable in shorter sittings.
Even if you only get through one to three verses in a sitting, that's okay!
Column 2
Put it in your own words
Write the Scripture in your own words, in the simplest and clearest way that makes sense to you (paraphrase).
We don't understand a section of Scripture until we can tell it in terms that anyone can understand.
Column 3
What is it telling us?
Is there a praise to God, a command to be obeyed? If you have time, work through the SPECK questions:
- S Sin to confess
- Does this passage reveal a sin to be confessed?
- P Prayer, praise or promise
- Is there a prayer, praise, or promise in the passage?
- E Example
- Does this passage contain an example to be followed or avoided?
- C Command
- Does this passage have a command to be obeyed?
- K Knowledge
- Does this passage contain knowledge God wants us to have?
End with thanks
End each reading by thanking God for who He is and for anything He revealed to you.
Try it now
Pick a short passage, like Psalm 23, Philippians 4:6–7 or Luke 18:1–8 (the passage I use in the video), and work through the three columns.
The study journal walks you through these steps and saves your entries privately on your device.