How to Create Your Spiritual Growth Plan

Mapping out a spiritual growth plan is one of the things my husband and I do with new believers in their faith.

It’s the desire of every believer to grow in their faith and deepen their intimacy with God. We don’t want to stay as spiritual babes, but grow up to maturity in Christ.

 

The spiritual disciplines such as Scripture intake, prayer, fellowship with other believers, and confession/repentance are the foundational tools we use to help us grow.

(One of the books I love that covers how to use spiritual disciplines to grow is Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.)

However, if we wanted to just start simple with one discipline, it would have to be with the Bible. The Word of God is central to our spiritual growth.

II Timothy 3:16-17 says,

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

His Word is a Lamp for our feet and a Light for our path. It is critical for spiritual growth!

I talk a LOT on this blog about Scripture intake and Bible study and I’m always looking for ways to dig deeper into God’s word and apply more Scripture to my everyday life.

How about you? We’re both truth hunters, yes?

 

Since life transformation is our goal, I believe it’s important to have a spiritual growth plan specifically for when we engage with God’s word.

Yes, frequent interaction with God’s word is important, but so is HOW we interact with God’s word. Think about it!

A simple reading of God’s word is great (and let’s face it, sometimes that’s all we have time for!) But a read through with some intentional observation and application thrown in is so much better!

For example, are you familiar with the Inductive Bible Study Method? It’s a method that’s been around a long time and has helped countless people effectively engage with the Word of God. This Bible study method is simple and incorporates three main parts:

1. Observation (what does this passage say?)
2. Interpretation (what does this passage mean?)
3. Application (how does this passage apply to my life?)

 

Just having a simple process like that above can help you get so much more from God’s word.

So let me tell you a little secret you can tuck away and take with you: Not all encounters with Scripture are equal!

We are instructed to be careful how we hear (Luke 8:18). I believe we should approach the Bible with the right mindset and attitude, some tools for digging, and with a desire to obey.

A well thought out way of engaging with God’s word can maximize the probability of change.

While methods like the Inductive Bible Study Method are great ways of studying God’s word, I personally find many lacking in a couple vital elements that help me when it comes to getting the most from God’s word.

With this in mind, I sat down and mapped out my own goals and a simple Spiritual Growth Path (below) specifically for time spent engaging with God’s word. {I went on to build this process into the PROSPER Bible Study Method, which you’ll also find below, with FREE printables.}

Below are the four steps in the Spiritual Growth Path for engaging with God’s word. This path means that I’m taking MORE time with a specific passage of Scripture rather than reading straight through books or chapters. For example, it may take me several sessions to complete the first step alone.

Also, I try to use this whenever I can… but let’s face it, sometimes time is an issue and I can’t get a thorough Bible time in. There’s no pressure to get it all done in a certain time frame, this is simply the framework to work through, the path to Spiritual growth!

A Path to Spiritual Growth:

• Information: The first step is simply to KNOW what God says. We all have a world view that’s shaped by our past, our culture, our emotions, and desires/values. As believers, we want our worldview to align with God’s perspective so it must be shaped by Scripture.In this first step, I simply gather information from and about the passage I’m reading.I use the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Scripture reading to simply make notes of what the Bible says. Look for answers to the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions. Additional questions I ask when possible are these 10 Important Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible. This is where I take lots of notes on what I observe in a passage. Low-pressure!

 

Want a ready-made Bible Study method that’s simple yet incorporates all the important things? Why not try our PROSPER Bible Study Method?!

Over the course of 5 days, I’ll walk you through a simple process and show you how to mine ANY passage in God’s word for hidden treasures!  Grab our 18 page workbook and 5 instructional video trainings below.

 

• Meditation: This is where we add understanding to what we “know.” We start to think about the ramifications of what we’ve learned. With biblical meditation, we start to allow truths, insights and principles to take root in our lives and begin changing our perspectives.This spiritual discipline is SO overlooked! But it is essential to drawing out the meat in a passage and really understanding the intent of the Scripture. Thinking is becoming a lost art and I’m passionate about seeing this discipline recovered in our generation. {I teach a workshop on 5 Different Ways to Meditate in the PROSPER Bible Study Method.}

 

• Application: Sometimes we know the right thing to do after reading the Word, but we still aren’t sure how it looks like in our daily life. Let’s face it, life is messy! Things aren’t as clear cut as we’d like them to be sometimes. That’s why I use visualization to understand how to better apply God’s truth to my life. I learned this from the Navy Seals ;) Oh, and also from Romans 6 ;) This vital step of “considering” and visualizing the application of Scripture allows you to “see” what conforming your life to these Scriptures actually looks like and maps a path in your brain so you actually ACT accordingly. The science behind this is kinda cool!

 

• Implementation: After doing the three steps above, I know I’ve set myself up to actually implement truth. Here’s where I’m equipped to become a doer of the word in very specific and practical ways and build godly habits into my life. I look for what I call a takeaway “seed” I can plant in my daily life. A seed is a small, repetitive action that will yield a harvest of righteousness. This is powerful! It isn’t just writing out a personal application, it’s ACTING on what you’ve read in a very specific, simple way. Powerful!

 

The Information -> Meditation ->Application -> Implementation process is based on Scripture itself (such as Psalm 1, James 1 and Joshua 1) and the instructions to know, remember, think, obey, and act.

These are the ways the Bible tells us to interact with it!

I wanted an easy framework to remember these things so I built the process into my PROSPER Bible Study Method. I think this carefully designed method will help you engage with God’s word in real, life-transforming ways as well!

To grab the complete PROSPER Bible Study Method toolkit (18 page workbook with instructions, templates and 5 video tutorials), click the image below.

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Click the images below to download the FREE bookmarks and one page summary sheets!

 

I’m thrilled with this Bible study method because it not only has blessed me but when we recently opened it up to pilot testers, they shared some amazing things with me:

“I am so enjoying the Prosper method. I’ve been in some really good Bible studies, but most of them direct you to what they think you need to see. Being able to study on your own allows God the chance to show you what He has for YOU at that time.” Sarah

“Hi, this study and sister circle and mentoring sessions are changing something in me! Thank you so much!” Beth

“I’m enjoying this study Arabah Joy, it’s really opening my eyes to the word. Thank~you for that!” Charlotte

“Arabah Joy, I joined this Bible study because of its goal of transformation over information. Thank you for this well thought-out process to help us delve deeper into what the Bible says to us.” Martha

“I LOVED the video on meditation. I liked the high-level overview and the deep details.” Lisa

 “I love the depth you are taking us! You have very explicit instructions and examples. I’m very thankful you have offered this online.” Carla

 

For me, having a simple Spiritual Growth Path to follow has helped me get the most from my time in God’s word. I’m no longer reading the Bible then immediately forgetting what I read. Instead, I’m taking in the Word and working with that Word to see true change from the inside out.

If you’d like to try the PROSPER Bible Study Method for yourself, I invite you to grab the FREE PROSPER Bible Study Sheets and Bookmarks below (no opt-in required! Just click the image to download)

Or purchase the complete workbook with video tutorials here for just $10. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Enjoy!