Spirit Led Bible Study

This post was originally an article titled Featured Senior – Alice Abernathy in our church’s first newsletter September 2018.

A major turning point in my spiritual growth was when I started studying the Bible only with the Lord. In the mid-1990’s, when I had been a believer for about 30 years, I was having daily quiet times, but I was still struggling with how to get off the “milk” and into the “meat.” Without going to a commentary, unless I remembered a sermon or Sunday School lesson from the past, all I got from reading my Bible was what was printed on the page in front of me. After reading the Autobiography of George Muller, I was pondering the question of how people who lived before there were any seminaries or Bible colleges came to have such a deep understanding of the scriptures and such strong faith. Who taught them? I’ll spare you the details of that long and winding road, but it led to me remembering John 16:13 and I John 2:27. I realized God taught them Himself!

The question then became, “What would prevent God from teaching me the way He taught all those other people?” Two thoughts came to my mind. One, I never asked Him to. And, two, even if I asked Him to, He can’t teach me if I don’t give Him the opportunity. With that thought I understood that if I wanted God to teach me I would have to spend sufficient time with Him every day, and I would have to be willing to wait on Him. I can ask Him my questions as they come up during my study time, but I cannot require Him to give me an immediate answer. I would have to let Him answer in His own time and in His own way. Then I prayed and told God that I was putting away all of my commentaries and devotionals. From now on it would just be me and Him with His Word, Strong’s Concordance and a dictionary. And, I asked him to please teach me the same way He taught them. (Twenty years later I re-read the Autobiography of George Muller; and that’s what he did, too.)

Shortly before that I came across a Bible study plan that appealed to me, but I had not yet implemented. It has me write the verse and underline all of the key words. Then look them up in Strong’s or a dictionary and write down the definitions, even if I already know the definitions. (Many words have several meanings and the most common meaning may not be the appropriate meaning in light of the context of the verse.) Then I would paraphrase the verse by writing it again, substituting the definitions for the key words. Next, I would write the answer to three questions:

1. What is this verse saying to me?
2. Where am I going wrong?
3. What am I going to do about it?

So, I bought a spiral notebook, picked a book of the Bible, and read the book all the way through to get the big picture. Then I started with Chapter 1, verse 1, memorizing as I went along doing the study. It was going well until I got to the third page of the book where I came across a verse that – if it meant what it appeared to be saying, conflicted with a verse two pages back. I didn’t know how to reconcile them, so I prayed about them and put my study aside to wait for God’s answer.

As I went about my business that day those two verses stayed on my mind. I just kept pondering and praying about them. After a few hours God brought to my mind the three or four words I knew of a verse that related to the question.

I used Strong’s to find the verse, looked it up in the Bible, added it to my study notes and followed the study steps. Then I had the answer. The next time it happened it took several verses over several days. No matter how long it takes I don’t move forward until I know the answer.

Jesus said that He will guide you, and that’s exactly how it works. He uses the scriptures to guide me to the answer. The answer doesn’t pop into my mind after I pray about it. He doesn’t give me the answer in a dream, or a vision, or a sign. There’s no baritone voice from somewhere out in the cosmos.

He gives me time to ponder what I know so far. As I pray and ponder, He gives me understanding, which at first may just be refining the question. When He determines that I’m ready He brings to my mind what I need to get to the next relevant verse. So, when I get to the last relevant verse, I can clearly see how the verses fit together, they all make perfect sense and there is no conflict.

Studying with the Lord is an amazing experience. I wish I had discovered it many years earlier.

My advice to the youth and those who are young in their faith is:

1. Don’t underestimate the importance of memorizing scriptures. It’s not about being able to recite them for the rest of your life. It’s about etching them into your memory so that God can bring them to the forefront of your mind when you need them – in your Bible study, for witnessing, and for ministering. If you’re not able to memorize every verse as you go along in your study, then each week try memorizing the key verse in your Bible study the previous week.
2. Ask a senior to be your study partner. If the next relevant verse isn’t anywhere in your memory, yet; it probably is in theirs.

See Bible Study Partners.