Reading With Your Ears

The HEAR Method for Reading the Bible

There is no right or wrong way to read the Bible as long as you’re reading it out of reverence to the Lord. But even knowing that sometimes it feels like we’re reading the Bible in the “wrong” way. For a really long time I would flip-flop between reading multiple chapters a night and diving deeply into the meanings, interpretations, and timelines but then the next few nights I’d only listen to one chapter through the Bible app. Neither of those things is an inherently bad way to learn what the Bible is teaching us.

Still, when we find ourselves burnt out from reading the Bible after a few hardcore nights and then end up only half listening to a chapter out of duty rather than reverence, the relationship we have with God begins to be affected. While I was in that habit of flip-flopping, I realized that I only felt close to God on days when I spent a lot of time reading the Bible, I wouldn't put much effort into prayers at all because I was either so focused on the Bible or felt like praying was too draining and I started to see reading the Bible and praying as a chore instead of a gift.

I ended up going to a new Bible Study group where they did the HEAR Method. It stands for (H)ighlight, (E)xplain, "(A)pply", and (R)espond. You pick a section of a chapter to focus on, for example:

Jonah 4:1-4

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

• Read through it a few times

• Look up the meanings, definitions, timelines, or any additional context that you think would be beneficial.

Steps:

1.  Highlight: Pick a verse that stands out to you! You can dig a little deeper into that verse than you did with the others.

2. Explain that verse to yourself in a notebook: reword it, add context, and think about what has happened in chapters and verses to lead up to this point.

3. "Apply" is very similar to Explain, just write down how the verse you picked relates to your life and how you can use this knowledge going forward.

4. Respond, do this one out loud: re-read the verses, say the verse you picked, explain it, and explain your "Apply". (Try not to read your Explain and "Apply" word for word from what you wrote down.) By speaking this whole process out loud, you open a door for God to speak through you to yourself or to others, or for God to reveal something new that you didn't notice before. Whether you do this by yourself, with others, or in prayer, I highly recommend completing Respond out loud.

When I use this method, I don't end up burnt out from reading multiple chapters. I don't feel guilty when I don't read multiple chapters, and I don't act like praying is a waste of time or too draining. My relationship with God really does feel less like a chore and more like a friendship that I am being drawn into. I’m sure if you're anything like me, you’ll feel like this just isn't enough reading for one day and I completely understand. But when we start to base our worth as a Christian off of how much we read of the Bible each day, then we start to believe in a faith of works, not of grace. I hope you try this method out and let us know how it goes!

I hope you give this method a try and that you enjoy it!