I’m excited to share another fantastic way of studying scripture with you!
This is a method that I have used a lot in my personal Bible study, and my husband and I have also implemented this with our youth group Sunday school class.
S.O.A.P. is an acronym for each portion of your scripture study!
- S = scripture
- O = observations
- A = application
- P = prayer
Keep reading to see how to use this study method! I’m going to show you an example using what I consider to be my life verse, Philippians 4:8.
Before you start, pray!
Ask God to open your eyes and your heart to understand what He has in His Word for you. Ask Him to guide you as you’re reading and to help you apply it to your life!
S – Scripture
Read a portion of scripture – a passage, a chapter, two chapters. Remember that quality is better than quantity. Reading multiple chapters is fantastic as long as you’re truly absorbing what you’re reading! If you begin to feel like you’re just skimming rather than absorbing, try backing up and focusing on a smaller portion.
Write down a verse or verses that stand out to you. Reading it is fantastic and an obvious first step, but I have found that when I write scripture, I’m far more likely to focus on and remember the content of the verse. Writing also helps me to remember what I’m reading!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll stand in front of your refrigerator and think, “Oh! We’re almost out of ________,” and then you turn away from the fridge and never think about it again until you go to get that thing and you don’t have it.
Just me? Maybe?
If I write down that grocery list item, I’m about 95% more likely to actually remember to buy it the next time I’m grocery shopping! (Still not 100% because…mom brain.)
Your Bible reading time works the same way. You’ll read it, consider it, maybe even pray about it, but if you don’t write it down, there’s a good chance you’ll close your Bible, think, “that was nice!” and then let it slip away from your memory.
Take the time to write down the verse or verses that stood out to you. It’s worth it!
I read Philippians 4:4-8 when I was preparing to write this post. It’s a passage I’ve read often. I wrote down verse 8 (seen in the image near the top of this post) specifically because that’s where my focus was this morning.
O – Observation
Ask yourself: what stands out to you about the passage you just read? Are there any commands, lessons, or instructions to be noted? Write down these observations underneath the scripture that you’ve written.
Here are some of my observations from Philippians 4:8:
- “Finally” means that this verse is the concluding thought to something. If I back up a few verses, I see that Paul has instructed his fellow believers to help his coworkers who are also contending for the gospel of Jesus. He instructs them to rejoice in the Lord always.
- Paul teaches in verse 6 that instead of using our time to worry, we should take everything we’re concerned about to God, praying and offering Him thanks.
- When we take our requests to God, He’ll give us His peace in return! Not only will we experience peace that surpasses all understanding, that same peace will also guard our hearts and minds.
- Paul concludes with his list of things that we should be thinking about.
- things that are true: truth comes from God, not from culture and society. Truth is not relative. It’s an absolute thing found in God’s Word.
- things that are honorable: honorable means “worthy of being lifted high and put on display.” (a simple Google search lead me to this definition, courtesy of The Gospel Coalition)
- things that are just: things that are right
- things that are pure: purity means that it’s clean, perfect, hasn’t been made dirty by outside forces
- things that are lovely: beautiful things, pleasant things!
- things that are commendable: things that deserve praise
- anything with moral excellence or that is praiseworthy – so, God!
- Dwell on these things. Dwelling denotes a long time thinking about something, not just a fleeting thought.
A – Application
In this portion of our Bible study method, we’re going to ask ourselves how we can apply our observations to our lives. What truths can I take from this passage that I need to apply to my life?
- I need to spend less time worrying and more time rejoicing!
- “Spend less time worrying” isn’t something that just accidentally happens. It requires intentionality in taking our thoughts captive, giving them to the Lord, and changing the direction of our thoughts. I can’t simply pray, “Dear God, help me not to worry,” and then leave it at that, hoping for the best. I need to do my part in studying God’s Word, filling those worry spots in my brain with the truth of the Lord instead.
- When I find myself worrying, thinking about the “what ifs” of life, I can remember the list of “whatevers” and redirect my thoughts to those things.
- What if this uncomfortable/scary/unpleasant thing happens? I can think of what I know is true. The truth is that my thinking of the possibility of a scary thing happening doesn’t mean it will happen. The truth is that God is always with me and for me and will never leave me; therefore, if this dreaded thing does happen, I’m not going to have to deal with it alone.
- What if I step out in faith and fail? It’s certainly possible, because I’m human and not perfect. If I think about things that are commendable, I’m reminded of God, and I know that He is perfect. In my perfect God I’m forgiven and redeemed and my failure doesn’t change His faithful love for me or His plans for me!
P – Prayer
Close your time with the Lord by praying. I’d encourage you to write your prayers down! In the same way that writing scripture helps you to focus on what you’ve read, writing your prayers will keep your mind on the words that you’re saying to God.
Speaking personally, my inside-my-head prayers usually end up drifting off to my to-do list. I’m easily distracted I suppose, and I’ve found that writing my prayers really helps me focus on my conversation with the Lord.
Another really great thing about writing (and dating) your prayers is that you now have a record of when you prayed this specific request. You can look back to that prayer and see how the Lord was working to answer it. His timing is best! It’s amazing to see exactly how He worked things in His timing from the moment you prayed to Him.
Dear Lord, I thank You for the encouragement found in the book of Philippians to think about things that honor you. My mind is prone to wandering, and I am sorry for the moments that I allow it to wander without taking my thoughts captive, eventually ending up in a frenzy over things that haven’t even happened! I ask that You would strengthen me and keep me aware as I pay more attention to my thoughts, working towards worrying less and rejoicing in You more. Help me to hold Your truths close to my heart, accepting Your peace and allowing it to influence my thoughts, words, and actions. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Why this is my life verse
You may have guessed by now that I’ve dealt with some anxiety in my life. That’s a blog post for another day!
A large part of my journey out of anxiety has been memorizing verses such as this one that I can bring to remembrance in those moments where I’m struggling to ground myself in reality. With some scripture memorizing and also being quite literally surrounded by scripture – wall decor, phone backgrounds, index cards taped on the bathroom cabinet…you name it, I’ve probably put a Bible verse on it – I’ve been able to keep these verses close to my heart. It’s taken a lot of intentionality on my part, but I owe all of my peace to God who has done this incredible work in my life!
What about you?
Do you have a verse that you claim as a “life verse?” Feel free to share it in the comments!
I encourage you to study your life verse (or truthfully any verse!) using the S.O.A.P. method. I’d love to hear any feedback from your study time, and I’m always excited to hear insight that others have about scripture. Studying scripture in community is beautiful because we all have different thoughts to bring to the discussion!