This is a widely taught study technique that goes through the steps of Observation, Interpretation, and Application.
- Ask God to help you understand and see what He wants you to see. You can study a passage over and over again and get different things from it. (Don’t pray as you start to read. Stop. Pause and pray first.)
- Read the text through.
- Read it again and mark observations and questions – observation.
- I print out the text. You could use a notebook to write down your observations. Start each line of observation with what verse number you are looking at and label the top of the page with the passage reference.
- Pray and seek to understand what those observations mean – interpretation.
- Pray and trust God’s guidance to pull a lesson(s) from those interpretations – application.
- Write down any new questions or ideas you have that you might want to pursue with further Bible study.
P.S. Pulling meaning from the text is called exegesis. You want to have Bible lessons that are exegetical. You want to learn from the Bible. The opposite is coming to the Bible with something you want to show and making the text fit the point you want to make.