Using the SOAP method to help read the Bible makes a lot of sense. It’s clean as well!
SOAP is an acronym for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. I have started to use this consistently over the past couple of months, and it helps to clarify what God might particularly be saying to me through the reading of the day. In that way it helps to bring the reading home and lodge it in my mind and heart.
S for SCRIPTURE – open your Bible and read set passages for the day. Take time to read and allow God to speak to you. Write down a verse or two that especially took your interest or impacted you in some way.
O for OBSERVATION –observe the context or anything noteworthy about the Scripture, and consider what God may be saying to you through it.
A for APPLICATION – personalise what you have read by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement, reminding of a promise of God, or corrections for a particular area of your life. Write how this Scripture can apply to you today.
P for PRAYER – write a brief prayer to express your heart and desire to God as a result of your reading and reflection. It may be a prayer of thanks, of asking for help, of praise, or even of confession. Whatever it is, God hears our prayers and answers in His way.
To give you a practical idea of how this works, here is something I wrote in my journal, slightly summarised, a few days ago, purely for illustrative purposes.
S – “After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish with human effort?” (Galatians 3:3)
O – The Galatians were turning back, and Paul sees that they are losing their freedom in Christ. They are turning back to the law, to human effort. The gospel of freedom in Christ places the law upon our hearts, that we may love what God loves.
A – God has given me freedom in Christ. I don’t need to look over my shoulder or to doubt God’s capacity to use me. I need to take hold of my freedom and live in the power of it every day.
P – Help me, Lord, to live in this freedom, not to turn back, but to press forward. Thank you, Lord.
In 2013 we will have appropriate journals available for you to use. We will also be moving to another Bible reading plan (actually there will be 2 options!), which will involve reading from part of the Old Testament and New Testament at the one time, rather than working through one book of the Bible at a time as we have been doing.
The purpose of SOAP is to integrate God’s word into our minds and hearts. Whether we are new believers or long time followers, the SOAP approach will strengthen and greatly enrich your walk with God.