I have found that one of the greatest tools for me to understand and know God’s word is simply to read it consistently everyday. I have read the Bible through many times and each time, I see things I did not see before. The more I read it, the more I can connect the dots. I found that time blocking for Bible reading every day is the best way to get it in you. I suggest only 30-45 minutes a day. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you go for marathon reading, you won’t do it on the days you are rushed. But if you have a 30 minute regiment, you will stay consistent even when you are rushed. I would read a Bible all the way through and high light it. Then I would put that Bible on the shelf and get a new one and do the same thing again. I would put notes in the margins and etc. I also suggest you choose one version of the Bible and stick with it. If you skip around versions, you won’t remember it. You may understand it better, but you won’t remember it. Repetition helps you remember. Personally, I read the NKJV. I grew up on KJV as a kid and so many of the verses I quote, come from that version, so NKJV is close enough, yet a modern translation. I know lots of people who prefer the ASV and the ESV. I have read through the Message and the NIV a couple of times, but I still go back to the NKJV.
Consider the words or this verse for a moment:
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “ Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “ Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
(Matthew 13:10-12 NKJVS)
The more word you have in you, the more you will be given. But if you have nothing to anchor it on, even when you get a revelation, it will be taken from you. (By the enemy, the bird in the parable of the sower.) The only way to get the mysteries of the word is to have lots of word in you. Only then can you connect the dots.
I hope this helps. It’s a simple plan, but it’s the plan that has worked the best for me.
