More Time For Study

It is that time of the year again to make the resolutions and seek some way to improve their life or be better this or that. I know that many will make a New Year’s resolution that one wants to read the whole Bible. This is a great goal to have and try to accomplish. However is reading enough? I can read the whole Bible and once I reach the last verse in Revelation and close the Bible I still could not know a single thing about the Bible or how to truly improve oneself according to God’s will!


Reading is important Paul instructed Timothy to give a necessary amount of attention to reading (I Timothy 4:13). However, it also said here that we must give attention to exhortation and doctrine. How do we understand doctrine and encouragement? Can reading alone do this? Alternatively, is there something else behind it all?

We need to give more time to studying. When we read and it should be our goal to better apply things to our life and to gain more knowledge. This means we should be giving more time to studying.

In II Timothy 2:15 the King James Version says to study to show thyself approved. Meaning we do have to have a working attitude to prove we are faithful workers of God. The American Standard and New King James versions by state to give diligence. This means to actively approach and be consistent in the efforts. Can reading alone do such a thing? Can reading and studying do this for us?

As individuals, we must give the much needed attention to God’s word! We are constant students of God’s word. We will always be the one that is learning. The reason is that the ways of God are higher, better, farther, and deeper than our own logic that we can come up with (Isaiah 55:8-9). The ways of God go in every way farther than what we can think. It is with this that we can see that there is a need for much time to be given towards studying.

The moment we declare that we no longer need to study is the moment that Satan will catch us at the weakest moment. Satan is a roaring lion seeking to devour the weak in mind and heart of God’s will (I Peter 5:8). With all of this being said studying needs more than just a quick glance or when we come together.

We have to give attention to studying at every point of the day. We always complain about the fact that we do not have enough time in the day to accomplish everything we want. Has time changed? Have we not always had the same amount of time to do all the things that we need and want to do? We just need to be batter managers of our time that has been allotted to us by God.

Is our soul the most important thing to us? Will we give anything in exchange for the soul (Matthew 16:26)? If our soul is the most important thing then we will give the wholesome things to grow by (Hebrews 5:12-14). How can we know sin? How can discern right and wrong? How will we know the way of God? All great questions that concern our soul require us to give more time to studying!

Again, we must be better managers of our time. We should sit down and study at some point every day. One of my personal favorite things to do is when I wake up and get downstairs I pick up the Bible and begin reading Psalms 119:97-105 and then I go from there to give more attention to studying God’s word. In these verses, I reminded of the great vastness of the knowledge of God and how we should give constant attention to reading and understanding more.

This is what it means as said in verse 97 of how God’s word needs to be our constant focus. We have to study in order for it to be our meditation. We are giving the necessary attention to know more about God and His ways of life.

You may have a favorite verse that you like to read. Read however study it also! Do this with entire books of the Bible. It is one thing to read the verses, and it is another to study them. Take the time to study and give all the attention to God that God richly deserves. He has shown us all the things that we need to have eternal life. Is the soul the most valuable thing? Then take the necessary time out of everyday to study and give attention to God and God’s Word.



Daniel Sanders