Discipline of Study
Do you know how to study?
Verse of the Day
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.”
Today’s Devotional
Are you a good student? My guess is that you are not actually in school anymore, so the need to “study” anything may be foreign or long forgotten. Studying God’s Word, as opposed to simply reading it, is a valuable tool in our spiritual tool belt. As I re-read Richard Foster’s chapter on study from Celebration of Discipline, I need to admit that at first I was a bit closed-minded. My thought was, “I know how to study the Bible. I do that all the time.” But God, in His kindness, allowed me to see that there is always more to learn, especially from people who have devoted their lives to the study of the Bible.
Foster says, “The apostle Paul tells us that we are transformed through the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2). The mind is renewed by applying to it those things that will transform it. “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8 [italics added]). The discipline of study is the primary vehicle to bring us to “think about these things.”
I never applied Bible reading and study to the command in Philippians 4:8 until the third time through Foster’s chapter on study. Diving into God’s Word is such a great way to train my brain what it needs to be thinking about.
Let’s take a look at some of Foster’s guidance about the discipline of study. Bear in mind that he is teaching us about how to study in general, not just how to study the Bible.
- We should rejoice that we are not left to our own devices (which is our own understanding of things) but have been given this means of God’s grace (which is study) for the changing of our inner spirit.
- Many Christians remain in bondage to fears and anxieties simply because they do not avail themselves of the discipline of study.
- Jesus made it unmistakably clear that the knowledge of the truth will set us free. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
- Study is a specific kind of experience in which through careful attention to reality the mind is enabled to move in a certain direction.
- We must emphasize that the ingrained habits of thought that are formed will conform to the order of the thing being studied. What we study determines the kind of habits that are formed, which is why Paul urges us to focus on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious.
- The process that occurs in study should be distinguished from meditation. Meditation is devotional; study is analytical. Meditation will relish a word; study will explicate it. (Explicate means to make plain or clear; explain; interpret.) Although meditation and study often overlap, they constitute two distinct experiences. Study provides a certain objective framework within which meditation can successfully function.
For today, I invite each of us to pray that God will enable us to have a teachable spirit. One of the main things that Foster says about the discipline of study is that it requires humility. We humbly admit that we do not know everything. We humbly concede that there is always more to learn. With humility we become willing to try things from a new vantage point that we had not previously considered. If “the word of God is alive and powerful”, then it might be wise to learn how to use such a powerful tool in every way possible. (Hebrews 4:12)
Today’s verse tells us that a sign of intelligence is an eagerness to learn, a willingness to be taught. May we be people who are hungry to learn anything and everything that God wants to teach us.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How would you rate your ability to be open-minded?
How would you rate your humility?
How has the Bible helped you to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious?
How has the knowledge of truth set you free in a particular area of your life?
How can you tell God or display to Him that you are eager to learn whatever He wants to teach you?