To arrive at a healthy life of soul, one should pray much and thank much ('Pray and give thanks without ceasing' it says. Praying is the air of the spirit!). Besides that, the Word of the Bible should dwell richly in your heart (not only in your mind). Praying and bible study must be balanced. Too much unchecked praying turns you into a fanatic and too much mental Bible study can make you a hypocritical Pharisee.
As a rule one should compare Scripture text with Scripture text and not be tempted to make a single verse speak for itself. It is an art to harmonize as many texts with each other as possible. Also, the Bible does not contain contradictions, but paradoxes.
Further, when you read the Bible, do not forget to ask the Lord for insight into His Word so you may reap benefits for your spirit, soul and body. Read what it says, believe what it says and you have what it says! And then act on it...
To reach headway and to be able to continue growing spiritually we must search for true Wisdom as if we were digging for hidden treasure (cf. Proverbs 2). According to this chapter we will succeed if we persevere. At a certain moment you will then experience that the Lord gives unto His beloved as in their sleep (somewhere in a Psalm). There are beautiful pictures of spiritual growth in the Bible. Ruth begins gathering a few ears of corn (one by one; this can be an exacting task). At a certain point in time Boaz (means 'in HIM is power') orders his workers to casually drop the occasional ears for her. Later still he himself lays an entire sheaf on her shoulders. And in the end she gets him and all his possessions into the bargain. So we in the end will be one with Christ and we will be co-inheritors of the heavenly Father with Him. The description of the living water that flows out of the temple in Ezekiel also is very impressive. In the beginning the water reaches but to your ankles, then to your knees, then to your middle and in the end it is a sea in which you cannot stand. "Who can tell the height, the breadth and the length of the Lord's Love," you exclaim then and worship.
Happy reading the Word!
Perversion and Aversion of the ten Commandments
Did the Serpent Speak Literally?
The 7 Days of Human History and its 13 Kings
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: an interpretation
COUNSELS AND COMMANDMENTS of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.