His Word: my handwriting

One aspect that I have added to my personal study time has been handwriting books of the Bible. The primary reason I began doing this practice was with the goal of being able to handoff this work to my daughter and son-in-law, and, if the Lord so blesses, my grandchildren someday.

I just finished handwriting Paul's letter to the Philippians. My aim is to have the scripture written on the right hand pages in black ink, with the accompaniment of personal thoughts, notes & testimonials from my life relating to the passage on the left hand pages to pass those down as well.

As this has become of more consistency in my life, unsurprisingly, I have discovered more benefits than just leaving a thoughtful hand-me-down. Beginning with the next paragraph, I will be using a post from "The Analog Pastor" from June of 2020 about the added benefits of handwriting God's Word that I have experienced as well:

Discover For Yourself the Benefits of Handwriting the Bible

I have personally experienced each of the following blessings since I took up this simple practice. And I believe that you can too.

1. It Engages Your Mind and Frees You from Distractions

Maybe it’s because we tend to read our Bibles either first thing in the morning or last thing at night, but it’s uncanny how easily you can find your mind wandering. Every thought of the day seems to come flooding in and you suddenly realize that you have no idea what you’ve been reading for the past five minutes.

But just the act of writing out what you’re reading helps you to stay focused.

The problem has to do with an area of study called psycholinguistics. Basically, one “loop” in your brain is executing the habit you’ve learned of recognizing letters and words on the page, but it’s not connecting to another “loop” which is responsible for converting the language into meaningful information. That part of your brain is busy with another focus.

The solution is to do something to connect those two loops. That’s why many people find that reading out loud is helpful, because forming and hearing the sounds can make that connection.

Writing the words out as you read them is simply another way, and I’ve found it to work better than anything else I’ve tried. Staying focused on a Bible passage for an hour is no problem for me now.

2. It Motivates Your Daily Devotional Time by Providing an Easy Way to Get Started

Lots of Christians want to have a meaningful daily reading time, but end up procrastinating. They even begin to dread that time on their daily schedule.

They love the idea of reading their Bible and praying every day, and they know that they should do it. But they struggle with where to begin each time. If they try to pray first, they’re not sure what to say. If they begin with Bible reading, they’re not sure what they’re looking for.

But when you add the daily discipline of handwriting a portion of Scripture, all you need do is sit down and start copying. Almost immediately you feel that you are in the task, and your mind is not troubled by “what do I do”. Now you’re engaged in the text, and before long thoughts, ideas, questions, challenges, and needs for prayer are coming to you naturally from what you are writing out.

3. It Forces You to Slow Down and Observe More

This, to me, is the real power of handwriting the Bible.

All good Bible study begins with keen observation. Carefully looking at the text to see all that it actually says, without making assumptions. (It’s amazing what conclusions our minds can jump too if we don’t read things properly.)

As I’ve written elsewhere, the very first day that I tried copying out Scripture I began with the first chapter of the gospel of Mark. I knew that a key word in Mark is “immediately”. It’s the greek word eutheos, and Mark loved to use it. Almost half the times that word appears in the whole Bible are in Mark’s gospel.

As I said, I already knew about that, but it wasn’t until I started copying Mark out that the force of it struck me. You end up writing the word eight times in the very first chapter!

I could give so many examples of this. Little things that you see when you slow down and write the text; little things that can lead to rich discoveries.

Martin Luther likened his Bible study to gathering apples. He said: “First I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I climb the tree and shake each limb, and then each branch, and then each twig, and then I look under each leaf.”

Psalm 1:2 talks about the blessed man “whose delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night”. That word “meditates” means, “to ponder by talking to oneself”. The picture is of a man murmuring to himself as he thinks deeply over something. It’s like the cow chewing her cud; she chews it seemingly endlessly to extract from it every last ounce of goodness.

Great things begin to happen when you slow down in God’s Word.

4. It Aids in Retention

Numerous studies have now shown that handwriting strengthens the learning process. And it’s not just the fact that you are reviewing the information, because typing out notes on a keyboard is evidently not as effective for learning and retention.

One study found that writing by hand specifically allows the brain to receive feedback from a person’s motor actions. The movements involved in handwriting, “leave a motor memory in the sensorimotor part of the brain”.

Well, I’m no scientist, but I can tell you that my recall of passages has definitely improved since I began writing them out. I believe that this has the potential to show very significant gains in Bible memory over time, the more you do it.

5. It Encourages Your Prayer Life

Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)

Note the vital connection that Jesus makes there between prayer and the Word of God. The more we get to know Scripture, the more it strengthens our prayer life; because it reveals God’s nature and His promises, which are the foundations of prayer.

All Bible reading can strengthen prayer, of course.

But slowing down to copy the Scriptures out by hand is, again, a way to increase engagement. To promote that “abiding”. I often find myself prompted now with concerns to pray about while I’m writing. And I am receiving faith for my praying also (Romans 10:17).

6. A Handwritten Bible Leaves a Tangible Legacy of Faith

Not everyone will take on the big project of writing out the whole Bible. That’s fine. You don’t have to do that to gain the benefits we’re talking about. You may choose to write a different passage of Scripture each day, and just toss them in a drawer, or give them away in greeting cards. It’s the process itself that is most important.

But if you did decide to make your own copy of the Bible, or the New Testament, or the book of Psalms, it can become something you pass on to your children or grandchildren. Perhaps you’ll write an inscription in the front telling them some of your own journey of faith. An heirloom that speaks to your family even after your lifetime.

I like to think of this as a kind of “recycling” the blessing that I’ve received. I am copying Scripture for my own spiritual growth, but I am doing so with an eye on the future.