SOAP: A Fun & Practical Way to Read the Bible

• Step 1: Say a quick prayer and invite Holy Spirit to bring the words in the Bible to life.
• Step 2: Read the bible chapter or verses of your choice. As you are reading, with child-like faith that Holy Spirit is leading you, underline and circle the words or sentences that catch your attention.
• Step 3: “S” = Scripture
  Review what you underlined and circled and pick one verse that stands out the most.
  Write “S” on your paper followed by the verse you chose.
• Step 4: “O” = Observation
  Ask “Holy Spirit, what do you want me to see?”
  Close your eyes. Breathe. Listen.
  Write down your observation that Holy Spirit is showing you.
• Step 5: “A” = Application
  Ask “Holy Spirit, how does this apply to my life?”
  Close your eyes. Breathe. Listen.
  Write down what Holy Spirit is showing you.
• Step 6: “P” = Prayer
  Ask “Holy Spirit, how do you want me to pray?”
  Close your eyes. Breathe. Listen.
  Write down what Holy Spirit is leading you to pray.

Here’s an EXAMPLE of what it looks like:
S – Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
O – I don’t have to try to control everything. God is in control. Let go. Surrender.
A – Stop worry about when the house will sell. God’s got this. Be obedient and surrender. Stop trying to control the timing. Let God lead this not me.
P – Father, help me surrender my will and desire to you. I hand you over my desire to control the outcome. I will trust in You and Your plans for me. Change my heart O God. Make it holy and pleasing to you. Amen.

TIP: If you are NEW to reading the bible, do NOT start from the beginning and go to the end. Start with the book of John. This book help you understand who Jesus is and the messag of salvation. Then go to the book of Acts as it shows you how the Christianity started. Read 1 chapter a day MAX. Less is more.


SOAP solves 4 Bible reading problems...

1) It doesn't make sense.

• First, if you started off in Genesis, I'm so sorry ^_^. They are great, amazing books, just not the place for a newbie to start.
• If you're just reading it like a normal book or novel it's not gonna cut it. Only the Holy Spirit can bring His words to life. That's why SOAP is such a great structured format.

2) I don't connect.

• Completely normal if you're reading it just like a typical book. Holy Spirit is the only one that can make the Bible connect with you. Otherwise, it can be so boring it's painful. Been there. Done that. Slow down and take your time to ask and LISTEN to Holy Spirit as you read. It's different, but it's WAAAYY better. I would rather you read less (like 1 paragraph) rather than more (1 or more chapters). Take time to invest in this process. It's soooo worth it.
  

• Of course it's not relevant when the Bible doesn't make sense and you don't connect with it. That's only natural. SOAP solves that by intentionally having you ASK Holy Spirit and LISTEN. Not it becomes a 2-way conversation instead of a 1 lane street to boredom.
  
• When you get to the "Obervation" and "Application" part of SOAP, that's where rubber hits for the road personally. So good! Be patient with it as it may take you some time to find your groove.

• Uhhh, yeah!! If you don't understand the Bible, don't connect and it's not irrelevant... it would be a miracle for it to NOT be boring. ^_^
  
• For most my life reading the bible felt like torture. Many times I tried to read a chapter and thought I was going to slip into a coma. Seriously. It was that bad. After a couple of those, I didn't want to do that voluntarily again. But that's because I didn't have SOAP. This method allows you to integrate Holy Spirit, read less in the right order and make it meaningful to me. I wish I knew about this back when I was a kid. Better late than never!