Today I want to talk about a way to make your time in the Word more effective and a little bit sweeter.My hope is that you will also be better able to remember and apply what you read that day. This easy effective way to study the Bible is called the HEAR Method.
The HEAR method stands for:
Highlight
Explain
Apply
Respond
This looks like taking a passage of scripture: Finding your highlight, explaining the passage in your own words, writing out how you could possibly apply what you have read and then taking the time to talk to God and respond.
To help illustrate this method I am going to walk you through John 1:1- 5 using the HEAR method. If you are just getting started reading the word I actually have 21 videos walking through the 21 chapters of John. Click HERE to get FREE access to that Bible Study.
If you are a new believer the book of John is such a great place to start, because it tells you so much of who Jesus really is. In John, you can also see what his life looked like when he was here walking with his disciples. There is so much goodness in John and I hope you will just jump into John if you do not have a current Bible plan you are following.
So let’s look at John 1:1-5
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Highlight:
I would take some time to read through this passage a couple of times and then decide what my Highlight was or what verse or verses stood out the most to me.
Highlight: John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Explain: the next step is to look at the passage and put the passage in my own words. There is something so powerful about internalizing scripture, processing what it is saying and then putting the passage into my own words, as if I was explaining the scripture to someone who had never read John 1:1-5
Explain: Jesus is called the Word in the Bible. We see here that Jesus was with God in the beginning and was a part of creation. And more than that, there is not one thing that was made that Jesus wasn’t a part of. Jesus is also called the light of the world. Any light in the world has to be put into man by Jesus. Satan would love to overcome the light, but the light cannot be overcome, it still shines in the darkness.
Apply: This is the part where I talk about the explanation portion and apply it to the context of the time first and then to myself.
Apply: The book of John is about the fact that Jesus is the son of God and is all about explaining Jesus to the readers from an eyewitness point of view. It is such a good reminder that Jesus was not created, but was instead there at the beginning with God creating. That Jesus is powerful and he is the light in the world. It brings so much comfort that no matter how much the enemy comes after me, that the light placed inside of me can never be put out. The light shines even in the darkness and has not overcome it.
Respond: The apply section begins to blend into the response section, because naturally as you apply the scripture to your life you will want to talk to God about this. But it is taking some time to say, “Jesus, this is what I am seeing about you in the Word.”
Respond: Jesus as I see how powerful you are, I am reminded who you are and who I am not. You were there when the whole world was created, surely you are powerful enough to take away my sins forever and to forgive me. And then surely you are powerful enough to lift my burdens and instead take up your yoke, for you say your yoke is easy and your burden is light. Jesus, I need you to carry my heaviness. I need you to remind me that the light inside of me is you Jesus and that the enemy can never put that out. I pray that your Word would give me courage to shine my light in the world. You are the Word, the light of the world and the light of men Jesus!
The beautiful part about the HEAR Method is that your answers can be super different than mine and not wrong at all. The goal is to really see, engage, internalize and respond to what God’s Word says vs. reading/walking away and forgetting.
Be sure to check out these other videos and blog posts on reading the Word: