A couple of months ago I started a new practice with my daily Bible reading: Scripture writing. This simple, yet effective, Bible study method has truly transformed my desire to be in God's Word daily. Not only am I reading God's Word, but I'm also writing it out in my own handwriting.
Every morning I wake up so excited to engage with God in His Word and I want you to feel that same eagerness and anticipation to open up your own Bible!
What Is Scripture Writing?
In a simple definition, Scripture writing is taking a passage of Scripture from the Bible and writing it down on a piece of paper or in a journal.
Sounds rather easy, right? That's because it truly is! Anybody can pick up their Bible, a piece of paper, and a pen and begin writing down God's Word.
When I was in Bible College I had many classes where we would need to have certain verses memorized. For me, the best way I could memorize those verses was by writing it out and then reading it out loud in my own handwriting.
Through physically writing out God's Word I was able to memorize many passages of Scripture, but the practice of Scripture writing itself never transferred over to my own Bible study time with God until recently.
Inspiration For Scripture Writing
The idea to start writing out Scripture every day could not have come at a better time in my life. For a while now (longer than I would have liked) my motivation and desire to be in God's Word was very inconsistent. I would have a good week where I was extremely motivated to have a quiet time with God daily, but then the next week I would make excuses as to why I couldn't or didn't have time.
When the country started shutting down in mid-March due to the pandemic, I started to have a lot more time on my hands (more than I ever wanted!). I felt this deep desire to start creating a daily rhythm of reading my Bible more consistently. What excuse did I have now as to why I couldn't? I have no time? Far from it.
Alyssa Bethke, who is a Christian author, podcaster, wife of Jeff Bethke, and mother of three, posted on her Instagram story on March 29th about writing out Scripture for ten minutes a day. When I saw that I thought, why not?
If I'm being honest, I didn't think I'd last more than a couple of weeks. Not because I didn't think I would enjoy it or find benefit from it, but rather didn't think my discipline would be high enough to sustain it.
But here I am, a little over two months later, and I'm still doing it. Almost every day (because I've missed a few days here and there) I get up and the first thing I do after eating breakfast is grab my Bible, journal, and a handful of my colored pens and begin writing where I left off yesterday.
10 Minute Scripture Writing Challenge
On Alyssa Bethke's Instagram story that day she posed the 10 minute Scripture writing challenge to her followers. The challenge was to start writing out Scripture for just 10 minutes a day.
There were no rules except to just write for 10 minutes a day. You could choose a book of the Bible or a different passage every single day. The choice was up to us.
Coincidentally, I wanted to start studying through the book of Philippians, so I chose that book to begin my Scripture writing journey. At first, I started using my phone to time myself for ten minutes to make sure that I would make it to the timed goal. But after a couple of weeks, I didn't time myself anymore. I just wrote as much or as little as I wanted each and every day.
I think starting out for ten minutes a day is a great method to implement if you want to start Scripture writing. It gives you a goal and creates discipline to reach that goal. Try it out! What do you have to lose?
Benefits of Scripture Writing
- Consistency in God's Word. Before Scripture writing I was pretty inconsistent with my Bible reading. But now I have this newly found excitement and plan to dig into God's Word by not just reading it, but also writing it down.
- Deeper Application and Understanding. Through writing down what I'm reading, I am able to slow down and really take in what God is saying. There are so many distractions all around us (phones, people, TV), and being able to engage both our mind and body when reading His Word helps us to retain what we just read.
- Memorization. Whether intentional or not, you will begin to remember more clearly what you just read and even begin memorizing passages of Scripture. I love that throughout the day I am able to remember and recall what I read from this morning in Philippians or Colossians because I was deeply engaged with the text.
- Excitement. Every morning I can't wait to dive into my Bible and start reading and hanging out with Jesus. Part of that is because I'm writing down His Word. How cool is that?! We have God's Word right in front of us and He wants to talk with us! The God of Creation is just as thrilled to spend time with you as you are with Him.
While there are many more benefits to Scripture writing, these are the four that were most notable when I first started and are still very true today. Again, I'm only two months into this new practice, but it has richly impacted my life and relationship with Jesus.
How to Start Scripture Writing Today
- Journal. Begin by grabbing a new journal or notebook that you can devote solely to the purpose of Scripture writing. I love the feeling of starting a fresh new journal!
- An Assortment of Pens. Using different colored pens is a fun way to write out Scripture and to read what you wrote. When writing through a book of the Bible I devote one color for that book. So for Philippians it was purple and Colossians mint green. I would also use a black pen to write the date and the Bible passage for that day. It's totally up to you with how you want to color coordinate or not!
- New Testament Book. I would highly recommend starting out by choosing a New Testament book to copy down; more specifically, one of Paul's letters. I say this for two reasons: 1) Most of Paul's letters are shorter, and this is a great way to gain confidence and consistency when you're first starting out, and 2) writing down a book of the Bible will help you with the challenge of spending at least ten minutes a day Scripture writing.
- Just Start. Just like with any habit we want to form, all we need to do it start. Don't make excuses. Set aside time starting today. Grab a new notebook, some pens, and your Bible ( I love my NIV Journal Bible!) and begin your journey of writing down God's Word.
Tips Before Starting Each Day
I hope you are truly excited to dive into Scripture writing! It is such a wonderful and fulfilling experience to engage with God and His Word through this method.
Here are just a couple of tips I'll leave to encourage you to carry out each day before beginning your Scripture writing:
- Reread What You Wrote Yesterday: This helps to set me up for what I'm about to read and write today. I get to refresh myself on yesterday's reading, and then dive right back in where I left off.
- Clear Your Mind From Distractions: Before beginning, pray. Pray and ask God for a clear mind. This helps immensely. My mind is almost always racing and I can't seem to slow down sometimes. Stop and pray: "Jesus, help me clear my mind and to be ready for what you have in store for me through this time of reading and writing Your Word."
I hope this encourages you and shows you another method of how to interact with God's Word! Have fun with it! You get to spend quality one-on-one time with Jesus today. 🙂
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