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How To Study The Bible One Verse At A Time

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Having a hard time fitting Bible study into your daily quiet time with God? Verse mapping is an easy way to dig into God’s word one verse at a time. These step-by-step instructions will help end your Bible study struggles for good!

I was really looking forward to my time with God that morning.

I was feeling a little worn and weary and just needed a word of encouragement to lift my spirit. I grabbed my quiet time basket and headed to my favorite spot.

There was just one problem that morning, I wasn’t sure what to read or study.  I didn’t know where to look for the comfort I desperately needed at that moment. So I prayed. I asked God to speak to me through His word.

I grabbed my Bible and started flipping through the book of Proverbs. My go-to place when I need some wisdom or guidance. I scanned the pages until my eyes landed on Chapter 3, verses 5 and 6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart . . .”

Familiar words. I’d heard them many times before. I was sure that I had read them a few times a well. There was just one problem. I wasn’t really sure what they meant. There had been times when I truly believed that I was trusting in God with all my heart but I always seemed to make a mess of things.

Can you relate to that feeling?

Wanting to follow God’s commands and obey His word but having no idea where to get started.  Have you ever read your Bible but couldn’t figure out how to walk out what the scripture said?

It’s a common struggle to have. And God promises in His word that will give undertstanding and wisdom to anyone that asks for it.

That day I asked God to help me to understand that Proverb so that I could walk in obedience to His word. And He did. God used verse mapping to help me finally understand this verse and so many others!

Verse mapping is an easy way to dig into God's word one verse at a time.

The Ultimate Guide to Verse Mapping

Verse mapping is simply a method of verse by verse Bible study. You will take one verse and study every single word so that you have a better understanding of scripture.

This method can take as little as 15 minutes to as much as an hour. It all depends on how much time you have, how many verses you want to study and how deep you want to go.  This is also a Bible study method that is easy to start and stop.

Whenever I run out of time on my verse map, it’s super easy to just pick back up where I left off.

Verse Mapping Supplies

Before we get started with the step by step instructions you’ll need to gather your supplies:

  1. A Bible: you can use any Bible you have access to. I like to have multiple translations to work with but you can easily find different translations online at places like Bible Gateway and Bible Study Tools.
  2. Notebook or a journal: You will be taking lots of notes so you’ll need something to write on. Index cards are also a good option if you are just doing one short verse.
  3. Writing Tools:  You will want to have a few pens/pencils/highlighters available to you. These will help you stay organized as you begin to map out your verse
  4. Reference books: At a minimum, you’ll need access to a dictionary. I also like to have a Bible dictionary and concordance close by when I study. You can access these online as well. My two favorite sources are Bible Study Tools and Blue Letter Bible.


Choosing a Verse to Study

Once you have all your supplies ready, the next step is to choose a verse to study.  Don’t spend a lot of time stressing over this decision. Here are some ways to choose your verse:

  • Monthly Reading Plan: A great way to get more out of a reading plan is to map out each verse daily
  • Scriptures from Sunday’s sermon: Jot down the scripture references your pastor teaches from on Sunday mornings and then spend the week meditating and studying these verses on your own
  • Verses that you don’t understand: When you come across a verse that makes you scratch your head, mapping it out will help you gain a clearer understanding.
  • Passages of scripture: You can dig deep into a section of scripture by taking the time to map out each verse. This will really help you understand that entire passage so much more than if you just read it in one sitting and moved on. The Promise Keeper study helps you map out each verse in Psalm 23!

Now we are ready to get to work!

4 Simple Steps to Verse Mapping

Step 1: Read/Write the verse

Once you have your verse picked out, take some time to read the verse.  If time allows it’s always a good idea to read the entire passage of scripture around your verse. This will help you to have context for all the notes that you will take as you begin to look up words.

This doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Read what you can. If it’s just a few verses before and after that is fantastic. If you have more time and can read the entire chapter or even the whole book of the Bible even better. You just want to have a picture in your mind about what’s going on in scripture as you begin to study.

Then write the verse down. Write out the entire verse that you want to study on a piece of paper, in your journal or on a notecard.  If you have time copy the verse in 2 other translations.

Step 2: Start digging into the verse

Using a highlighter, colored pencil or your favorite pen mark the words or phrases that jump out at you. The things that you want to learn more about. There’s no right or wrong here, different things will jump out at you at different times.

Here’s an example, if I was going to study Proverbs 3:5 I would mark the following words to study (The words in bold are the ones that I will look up in my resource materials.):

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Once you’ve marked your words it’s time to pull out your dictionary. Look up each word and write down what they mean. Be sure to take note if the word is a verb, adjective or noun because that can sometimes affect the meaning.

I always like to start with a regular English dictionary when I get to this study. But if I have more time I also like to look up the words in my Bible dictionary. Sometimes, words don’t mean what we think they do when we get back to the original Greek or Hebrew.  If you don’t have time for that no worries.

By the end of this step, you should have a nice list of definitions ready to use.

Step 3: Insert the definitions into the verse

Now that you have looked up each word, take a few minutes to rewrite the verse using the definitions of the words. Our previous example might look something like this:

Believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of the Lord with all the central or innermost part of your being,  and do not rely for support or inspiration on your own ability to understand something.

If you have more time, pull out your concordance and look up other verses that use the words that you marked. Read a few of them to help you see how it was used and what it meant in different parts of scripture. This will add to your understanding. And it may give you more verses to map later.

Step 4: Apply the verse to your life

No Bible study is complete until we take some time to apply it to our lives. Often studying scripture will reveal something that we need to change about our walk with God.

I like to ask myself the following questions:

  1. How can I apply this verse to my life/situation?
  2. What did I learn about God from this verse?
  3. Are there any commands/warnings/promises I should make note of?

Take some time to think through each of these questions and make note of anything else that comes to mind. Finally, I like to end with a few minutes of prayer.

I know that was a lot of information to throw at you at once. No worries! I created a printable guide to Verse Mapping to help you get started!

Your turn: What verse will you map first?

The Best Prayer Books That Will Make Devotions Quick and Easy

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Inside: There are seasons where you just don’t have the time or energy to study the Bible or write out your own prayers. A devotional for beginners is a great way to be consistent with your quiet time with God. 

Can I share something with you? I have really been slacking with my devotions: both prayer and Bible study.

I talk to God when I’m trying to figure something out or when I have a need. But I have not been intentional or consistent about really studying or praying for myself or my family.

Honestly, there’s just so many needs that I have felt overwhelmed. And I’ve been feeling really exhausted. We have been walking a hard road for the last 3 years and it just seems to get harder and harder.

I’ve been too tired to take the time to create a prayer strategy or a Bible reading plan. So I decided to take a short cut this month.

I let someone else write out my prayers for me. I decided to let someone else handle my devotions. 

One lesson that I have learned over the last 10 years is the importance of recognizing when I need a break. Rest is so important and it’s actually an act of warfare against the enemy. He wants us to be so busy trying to put out all the fires and fix all the problems so that when he really attacks us hard we are too worn out to fight. That’s how I felt for about half of last year.

I’m not having that this year. So I knew that I needed to get back on my prayer game but I also knew that I needed to take it easy for a little while. I really wanted to dig deep into scripture but I wasn’t ready to take it on myself.

So I walked over to my bookshelf and pulled off some of my favorite prayer books and I decided to use them as both my devotions and prayer strategy this month.

It’s so easy. I open the page to where I left off and pray the prayer that someone else so graciously wrote out for me.

There are seasons where you just don't have the time or energy to study the Bible or write out your own prayers. A devotional for beginners is a great way to be consistent with your quiet time with God. 

My Favorite Prayer Devotionals for Beginners

When I first started using prayer devotionals I felt like I was cheating. But then I realized that it was okay to let someone else do the leg work for a little while if it meant that I would actually be intentional and consistent with my quiet time.

I reminded myself that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

And you know what? God spoke to me through the pages of those books. Books that I hadn’t picked up in almost 10 years. Such a wonderful time of renewal.

I could focus on hearing the voice of God without having to worry about what to say in my prayers or what to study in my Bible.

You want to be sure that you aren’t wasting time on fluff. When choosing a devotional you want to make sure that it’s scripture based and not just a book full of someone else’s thoughts. The best devotionals for beginners will have solid biblical teaching, scripture-based prayers and always point you back to the Word.

When you need to pray for yourself:

For some reason, I always forget to pray for myself.  I don’t mean that I don’t talk to God about what I need or want. I do that all the time.  However, I do forget to pray specifically for God’s will in my life.  That’s one reason I like having a devotion or prayer book — to remind me of things I forget.

  • The Power of a Praying Woman: This was the first book that I read that helped me to understand how important it is to pray for myself. Stormie Omartian is one of my favorites, she always gives great spiritual guidance and her prayers are based on scriptures.
  • Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer: If you have not spent time understanding the strategic plans that the enemy creates to destroy each of us, you much read this book! Priscilla Shirer does an excellent job of helping you prayer scripture-laced prayers that yield great spiritual results.
  • Praying God’s Will for Your Life: Spend 20 days praying with Stormie Omartian in the areas of your spiritual life that matter the most. This one even has journaling space!


When you need to pray for your marriage: 

Just like Satan is after you, he’s also after your marriage. If the devil can destroy families then he has a better chance of getting to our children. Over the years I have learned the importance of covering my husband in prayer, especially when hard times come.

  • The Power of a Praying Wife:  This is a great place to start when it comes to covering your husband in prayer. Stormie shares stories from her own marriage, solid biblical teaching and scripture-based prayers to cover him for an entire month.
  • The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage:  Don’t think that this book only applies if your marriage is in crisis. Yes, this is a good book to pick up during those times but it’s also a great book to pray in advance. Prayer can also prevent things from happening.


When you need to pray for your children:

My children are the true reason that I became super passionate about prayer. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t do something to really mess them up, LOL. Really I knew that I needed God’s help to raise my boys and stay sane.


Your Turn: Did I miss one of your favorite devotionals for beginners? Leave a comment and let me know!

3 Quick And Easy Ways To Stay Focused During Quiet Time

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Inside: These 3 tips will help you stay focused during quiet time with God. No more falling asleep or being distracted during prayer or Bible study!

It was as if all the stars aligned that morning.

  • I actually woke up on time … relatively
  • My boys were happily entertaining themselves in their room
  • I even got out of the bed instead of hiding under the covers

I grabbed my Bible, journal and headed to the living room for some much needed time with God. I couldn’t wait to just sit down and enjoy some time in His presence.

There was just one problem …

I couldn’t focus. My mind was all over the place. I stared at the pile of laundry that still needed to be folded. I thought about all the errands that needed to be run that day. And for some reason, I suddenly couldn’t remember if it was time to get the oil changed in my car.

Distractions often derail the best-laid plans when it comes to time spent growing our faith and deepening our relationship with God. And they aren’t always things related to housework or the kids.

  • Sometimes there’s just so much going on that it’s hard to reign in our thoughts and emotions.
  • Our children are going through a tough situation and we are overwhelmed by the desire to help
  • We feel burden by the weight of all the evil going on in the world
  • There’s so much pain in our personal life that it’s hard to take a breath and look up for help

These 3 tips will help you stay focused during your quiet time with God. No more falling asleep or being distracted during prayer or Bible study!

3 Quick And Easy Ways To Stay Focused During Quiet Time

Whatever the reason or the cause we can’t allow distractions to keep us from the one thing that will help us find hope, peace and maybe even finally put that laundry away.

What are we to do when distractions come? Here are 3 things that have really helped me in the past.

1. Have a Plan

One the best ways to avoid being distracted is to have a plan. Knowing where you are going to have your quiet time, what you are going to study or pray about and having all your supplies in one place is a great way to get started.

Having a plan also helps to take the guesswork out of your time with God. No more decision fatigue. No more minutes wasted trying to figure out what to read when you open your Bible.

Related: How do I know what to study during my quiet time with God?

2. Reading and Praying Aloud

Confession: I have a bad habit of falling asleep while I pray. And sometimes I fall asleep face down in my Bible instead of reading it.

I have found that reading and pray aloud helps me to stay awake during my quiet time, especially if it’s evening after the boys have gone to bed.

One reason this is so helpful is that it helps with retention. As you are reading your Bible and saying the verse aloud it begins to take root in your heart. After an entire week of reading the same verses over and over again, you’ll definitely have it hidden in your heart.

Related: 3 tips for memorizing scripture

3. Dealing with Distractions as they come

Sometimes God will bring a person or situation to mind while you are studying and praying. This is not meant to be a distraction. Instead, it’s usually the Holy Spirit’s way of prompting you to pray for them.

Sometimes no matter what you do distractions will come. But all hope is not lost. Here are a few things you can do:

  • Pray and ask God help you stay focused
  • Take some time to do a brain dump before you get started. This will clear space in your mind and heart so that you can hear from God more clearly
  • When something interrupts your thoughts during your quiet time keep a scrap piece of paper nearby to jot those thoughts down. This way you quickly refocus but still have a list of things that need to be looked at later

The next time all the stars line up for your quiet time with God you’ll have a few tips to help you deal with any distractions.

Your turn: How do you handle distractions during your time with God?