Helping Girls Learn to Study Scripture

I’m sure you have seen them, liked them, and maybe even posted them yourself…the infamous quiet-time Instagram picture. You know, the well-staged proof of a morning spent with Jesus. I know I have arranged and re-arranged my coffee cup, journal, and Bible in order to get that perfect, artsy photo to caption with the verse I became most excited about that morning. I love to capture special moments of my day to share on Instagram, and I KNOW my girls love to, as well! There is nothing I love more than seeing those posts from my girls and knowing they are spending quality time with their Heavenly Father!

Recently, as I looked at these quiet-time posts from my girls, the Lord began to lay heavily on my heart Isaiah 29:13:

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.  

As I read this verse, I began to think how easy it is for our girls, our daughters, and even ourselves to fall into the trap of living the “Christian” life on the outside while being far from God on the inside. Our girls’ Instagram profiles may be full of Bible verses and well-intended moments of reading God’s Word, but do they really know how to spend time with their Heavenly Father? Have we taught them that a “quiet-time” is more than sitting quietly in a room with their Bible, more than a thing to check off their “Christian to-do list,” and more than an artsy looking picture captioned with an inspirational verse? Have we equipped them with the tools to study and understand Scripture for themselves, so that they may honor God with their lips, social media posts, and most of all their hearts?

I believe teenage girls are starving for more than a verse-a-day devotional. We were created for more, so of course they are craving more! They sit in AP classes being taught high levels of information on World History, Physics, and Calculus but are trying to survive on the simplest Biblical truths. This is where we get to come in!! We have the opportunity and responsibility to help our girls know how to get to know their Creator!

Every Thursday night for the past five weeks, a group of high school girls has met in my living room, eaten a substantial amount of queso and chocolate chip cookies, and learned 4 different methods for studying Scripture.

• Praying through Psalms
• SPECS
• Topical Research
• 3 Questions Method

Each week we discussed a new method and studied a passage together. I then challenged them to use that method for studying Scripture as their time with the Lord the following week. It was so cool to see the girls really get it! They were nervous at first, but as they began to realize they could do it on their own, they became more and more excited!

Specifically, I challenged the girls to:

• Spend fifteen minutes with the Lord each day: five minutes praying, ten minutes reading Scripture (I suggested they set a timer on their phone and commit not to answer a text, check social media, or anything else for those fifteen minuets.)
• Spend fifteen minutes with the Lord five days this week. (Five days keeps the girls from becoming discouraged if they miss a day.)
• Use the method we discussed that week in small group as their time with the Lord.

James 4:8b says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”   This is a promise from God that when we set aside time to spend with Him, He will draw near to us! Let’s take the mystery out of having a “quiet-time” for the girls in our ministries and families by equipping them to study, interpret, and apply Scripture for themselves, so that when they post that artsy Instagram picture of their quiet-time, they are not just honoring God with their lips but with their hearts!

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The following post was written by Kate Downing. Kate has the privilege of serving as the Girls Ministry Director at First Baptist Church Dallas, TX.  A Georgia peach by birth, Kate graduated with a degree in Biblical Studies and Youth Ministry from Liberty University and a Masters of Religious Education from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. God has given her a heart for helping girls come to know and build a relationship with Jesus Christ.  If you asked the girls in her ministry what she loves most (other than Jesus of course), they would say the Old Testament and Pumpkin Spice Lattes.