Are you wondering how to use a Bible? Have you accumulated numerous Bibles over the years? Perhaps you are a Bible addict like me. Granted, I did not purchase all of them. Many were handed down from relatives or gifts.
As you grow your collection of Bibles, you might want to think of the purpose that you have established for each Bible you own. What is your plan for each Bible?
I just want to encourage you to create a Bible plan, especially if you have multiple Bibles to use. By “Bible plan,” I am speaking of a plan for what you will do with your Bible or Bibles if you have multiple ones.
Most people only need one Bible. However, if you have an addictive personality, as I do, you will likely crank everything up to an “11.” So, if you get “into” Bibles, you might have quite the collection. There are hundreds of uses for Bibles, but I’ll only cover a few in this article.
This article excites me because aside from the Lord, one thing I am super thrilled to write about is how to use a Bible. Let’s dive in and see how you can put your Bibles to use and manage your Bible collection!
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What is a Bible Addict?
Perhaps “addict” is the wrong word to use here. Addictions tend to be associated with negative activities. However, if you ask me, I’d say that being addicted to the Bible is a positive thing and should be encouraged. It’s always a good idea to keep your nose stuck in God’s Word!
Of course, if you are not growing closer to God at the same time you’re reading the Bible or studying the Bible, you might have a problem. You should be learning and advancing in your knowledge along the way. Learn more about addictions in Celebrate Recovery!
Maybe you only pull out your Bible when you have a crisis or need to “prove someone wrong.” Perhaps the only time the Bible leaves your bookshelf is on those trips to church. If these sound like you, consider getting addicted to God’s Word – the Bible. It’s a Living Book!
Only 11% of Americans read their Bible on a consistent basis. Interestingly, 63% of Americans claim to be Christians. So, according to these surveys, not many people read their Bibles, but these numbers tend to change quite frequently.
There are now many new Christians or Christians who have come back to the faith. The Bible is a popular topic online today, with many people getting “into” Bible journaling, Bible studies, Bible study groups, Bible reading plans, and Bible writing plans.
Because of this trend, I am comfortable saying that I am not the only “Bible addict” out there. Many people are purchasing more than one Bible to use each one in different ways. Some just pull out old dusty Bibles to use in a new way! That’s awesome!
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. – 2 Timothy 3:16
Are There Really Different Ways to Use a Bible?
If you have multiple Bibles, you might want to have a use for each one. Having your Bibles get all dusty in the garage or on a bookcase that is never touched really isn’t using those Bibles. Of course, if you have some handed down from relatives, you might keep them somewhere safe.
So, what kind of uses are there for Bibles?
You might want to write out your prayers in an interleaved Bible or in a wide-margin journaling Bible, which is my personal favorite choice. I have a few interleaved Bibles that I use for writing out my prayers and recording notes from Seminary School.
Consider using a Bible for prayers only. If you are a prayer warrior, you might need one for each year, one for each person you pray for, or one for your personal prayers as opposed to one for family prayers. It’s always enlightening to go back and see how God answered prayers!
Another option is to create your own study Bible. With this idea, you’ll want a wide-margin Bible that does not have writing or highlighting in it. You will also not want it to be a study Bible; instead, use a Bible with minimal additional notes (notes in the margins or as footnotes).
This way, you can use commentaries, study Bibles, and notes found online or in other reference books to add notes to your “clean” journaling Bible. In this way, you are creating your own study Bible. This is a favorite project of mine!
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. – Psalm 119:97
What If You Can’t Afford Multiple Bibles?
If you cannot afford a Bible and have not had a family member pass one down to you, there are options for free Bibles. For example, you can get one from Bibles for America. They even cover the cost of shipping it to you. There are many other options out there. Just do an online search.
If you only have one Bible, you can use it for many different purposes. You do not need to purchase more than one Bible. If you want to turn your Bible into more of a personalized study Bible, consider adding maps or charts to it. Write notes in the margins – if they are wide enough.
Additionally, with one Bible, you can add paper with washi tape or regular clear tape. Just be careful because both options here can tear the pages if you want to change them later. Add Bible tabs to the side and tops for the books of the Bible or topics you study often.
Consider adding Post-it notes to your Bible. You can also keep a journal or notebook where you record your notes that correspond with various passages in the Bible. With a notebook, you can write as much as you wish and just refer to the journal and page number in your Bible.
So, if you can only afford one Bible, there are still many ways to use it. Just get creative, pray about it, and enjoy each time you open God’s Living Word. Study it 15 to 30 minutes a day, and your life will change in beautiful ways!
Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. – Proverbs 30:5
How to Use a Bible (25 Unique Ways)
As we’ll discuss, there are many unique ways that you can use a Bible. If you are not sure what those ways are, this list of how to use a Bible will surely spark your interest. Maybe you’ll come up with a reason to use a Bible that isn’t listed below. Feel free to contact me with your ideas!
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. – 1 Corinthians 2:13
1 – A Study Bible
Having a good study Bible is smart. The difference between a study Bible and a regular Bible is that a study Bible will have footnotes, charts and graphs, maps, a concordance, a dictionary, cross-reference verses, and more! Not all study Bibles have every one of these, but many do!
2 – An Heirloom Bible for Your Children
Many mothers enjoy making Bibles by Bible journaling in the hopes that one day, they will be able to pass them on to their children. They use journaling Bibles to place notes in the wide margins, prayers for their children, and more. It’s a very creative way to use a Bible.
3 – A “Prayer Bible”
A “Prayer Bible” is a Bible with themes that you can use to pray. For each theme that you pick, you color and place tabs on the pages with the corresponding verses. You might only choose 5-10 themes to keep it simple. What do you pray the most about?
4 – A Bible for Personal Prayers
A journaling Bible is perfect for personal prayers. What’s nice about a journaling Bible is the wide margins. The additional space is great for really pouring your heart out to God. If you enjoy writing, you might wish to use a journaling Bible so that you can write in the margins.
5 – A Reading Bible
With a reading Bible, you might want to keep it clean. That means that you do not write or highlight inside of it. Also, you would not add stickers or post-it notes. You can use any Bible as a reading Bible. You might want to find a great bookmark for this Bible.
6 – A Scripture Writing Bible
If you wish to write out Scriptures, consider making a Scripture-writing Bible. An interleaved Bible is the best choice here. With an interleaved Bible, every other page is blank. Yes, this means that the Bible is pretty thick, but it can be a lot of creative fun!
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. – Colossians 3:16
7 – A Themed Bible
A themed Bible or a Bible with one theme can work well if you use a new Bible each year. You might want to pick your “word of the year” first. Then, discern where God leads you in His Word (the Bible). You can highlight or mark the verses that correspond with your yearly theme.
8 – An Inductive Study Bible
You can use the already-made Inductive Study Bible. It follows the Inductive Bible Study Method. With this method, you mark keywords with different shapes, colors, or symbols to learn more about the content of the passage. This can certainly be a fun and creative way to study!
9 – A Bible for Family Prayers
With a Bible for family prayers, you will want a wide-margin Bible. With this type of Bible, you are able to record your family’s prayers in the margins. It’s a smart idea to write the date of the prayer and to go back to see how God has answered prayers.
10 – A Bible for Church
This type of Bible could also be called a sermon Bible. Take it with you when you go to your church. If you do not attend church, you could use this Bible when you watch Biblical lessons or sermons online. A journaling Bible would give you room to make notes in your Bible.
11 – A Listening Bible
A “listening” Bible records your revelations from the Holy Spirit or things that God has revealed to you. If you were made aware that your calling was to be a missionary in Mexico, you might want to write about that revelation and when and how it was revealed to you.
12 – A Bible for Memory Verses
With a Bible for memory verses, you can highlight the verses that you have memorized or plan to memorize. If you are memorizing them for a particular reason, you could use a wide-margin Bible to record your reasons for picking that verse to memorize.
13 – A Spiritual Warfare Bible
The Armor of God will help you fight spiritual warfare. It can be found in Ephesians 6. As you read or study the Bible, you will find additional verses that apply to your life and what you are facing when you have temptations. Which verses help you fight Satan?
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. – Ephesians 6:11
14 – A Teaching or Preaching Bible
Are you a Bible teacher or preacher? You might want your own Bible for the purpose of preaching or teaching. Many preachers or teachers like having certain types of Bibles or want to record notes in the margins of only one Bible that they use for every lesson or sermon.
15 – A Bible for Artistic or Creative Expression
The Inspire Bible is well-known to be a Bible for creativity. There are many pictures inside that you can color. The Illustrating Bible has the widest margins that I know of. With that Bible, you can paint, write, draw, or color. The options are truly endless.
Your word is truth. – John 17:17
16 – A Coloring Bible
With a coloring Bible, you will add color to your Bible through highlighting or coloring. You might want to color-code your Bible. Of course, it will depend on the topics you usually come across when you read or study the Bible. For example, you could highlight yellow any commandments.
17 – A Bible for Memories
A memory Bible or a Bible for memories can store your most treasured moments on its pages. For example, if there is a verse that convicted you to become a Christian, you might want to highlight it and write about that experience.
18 – A Create-Your-Own Study Bible
Any Bible can be turned into a study Bible. Just add paper or use a wide-margin Bible for notes. You can use the notes found in commentaries or study Bibles as your notes. Additionally, you can include (using washi tape) any maps, pictures, or other elements that you wish.
For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, It penetrates even to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow; It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12
19 – A Word Study Bible
When looking at the origins of a word in the Bible, you are doing a word study. With a word study, you will likely be looking at the Hebrew or Greek language. The Keyword Study Bible can assist with the original meanings. Additionally, there are several options online to use.
20 – A Bible Garden
What is a Bible garden? Cat Woods defines what a Bible garden is in that video. Basically, it is a way to decorate your Bible to illustrate to you where you have been in the Bible. You might add stickers, tabs, post-it notes, or anything else you wish to decorate your Bible with.
21 – A Verse-Mapping Bible
There are verse-mapping Bibles that you can purchase. If you want to make your own, I would suggest a Bible with wide margins or one that has large spaces between the rows. The ESV New Testament Inductive Study Bible is the one I have that I would use for this purpose.
22 – A Bible to Note God’s Attributes
This is a Bible I would like to create. However, I don’t want to limit it to the attributes of God. I would also include any attributes that applied to Jesus. The Jesus Bible is an excellent choice to get started with a project like this, as it names the different roles Jesus plays in the Bible.
23 – A Cross-Reference Bible
With a cross-reference Bible, you would want to add in the margins or as notes all of the Bible verses that correspond to the verse you are marking. If you are looking at a prophecy in the New Testament, you might want to reference where it was first mentioned in the Old Testament.
Hear the Word of God and obey It. – Luke 11:28
24 – A Bible for Real-Life Application
With a Bible for applications, you will add notes to the Bible that apply to your life. An example would be found in my Bible in Genesis 36:40-43. My note says that God blessed Esau, so even if I fall away, God can still bless my life. I added this after doing a Genesis Bible study.
25 – A Decorative Bible
You can always have one Bible that you use for stickers and other embellishments. Perhaps you have a special bookmark or poem from your husband. You could easily add it to this Bible that you keep “pretty.” A few lace strips would make gorgeous bookmarks, also.
I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. – Psalm 119:11
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Use a Bible
Refer to these frequently asked questions about how to use a Bible to aid you with any additional questions you might need answers to. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact us so that we can do whatever we can to assist you with your Bible needs.
How do you use the Bible for beginners?
As you read the Bible for the first time, a good place to start is in John. You might want to start in Genesis (the first book of the Bible). There are many Bible stories in Genesis. Psalms is the perfect book if you have anxiety or depression. Check out our Psalms Bible Study!
Are you a Bible addict?
Do you have more than 50 Bibles? Do you purchase a new Bible each month because you just want it? Do you have many Bibles without a purpose – ones you do not use at all? If you answered “yes,” you might be a Bible addict. Keep in mind that I have not said that’s wrong!
How should I organize my Bible?
It’s important that you organize your Bible in a way that you find useful. If you need a colorful Bible, add some coloring pages or drawings you or your children have drawn. Before purchasing a new Bible, be sure that you have a purpose for it!
What is the proper way to read the Bible?
There is no “right way” to read the Bible. If you would like to read the entire Bible, the audio version offered by YouVersion is a good choice. You might try the NLT (New Living Translation), NIV (New International Version), or the ESV (English Standard Version) versions of the Bible.
What are 3 ways to read the Bible?
(1) You can read the Bible as you would another book, but keep in mind it is a LIVING book, which can guide you through the Holy Spirit. (2) You can listen to the Bible by using an audio version of the Bible. (3) You can follow a Bible reading plan. YouVersion has many to offer.
Concluding Thoughts on How to Use a Bible
You should now have some new ideas about how to use a Bible. Do you use your Bible in a way that wasn’t listed in this article? Please contact us so that we can include your ideas in this article and help others see the many ways to use the Bible.
If you are a Bible addict, be sure to have a use for each Bible. Another option is to give them to relatives for Christmas or on their birthdays. I once gave one to my grandmother, including memories we shared, pictures of us, my favorite verses highlighted, and more. She loved it!
I hope you’ve found some new ways to use your Bible today!
God bless you on your journey!
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” – Matthew 4:4
