For one of my birthdays a few years ago, my grandparents bought me a journal Bible. Since then, I’ve made reading my Bible every day a priority and it has positively changed me in many ways.
There’s no doubt that reading the Bible is important. I’ve learned so much about God and have a deeper understanding of biblical accounts and the meaning of various passages. His Word has impacted people for hundreds of years, and it’s still living and active to this day. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV), “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
That being said, there is also no doubt that many people either don’t read their Bible often enough, or as often as they’d like to. Excuses are easy to come by, and I’ve personally told myself that I was just too tired many nights—my flesh fighting my spirit. Matthew 26:41 (ESV) “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Though I still struggle to read here and there just like the next person, I have learned a bit about how to stay on top of reading my Bible daily. With consistency, I’ve become stronger in my routine and want to share some tips with you.
1. Commit Yourself to Practicing.
If you want to be consistently good at something, one of the best ways to get there is to commit yourself to practicing that thing. And not just practicing occasionally, but consistently, by setting aside special time. The more you get into the groove of doing an activity, the more easily your brain and body will respond.
This doesn’t mean that reading your Bible is easy, but it does mean that setting aside specific times to do so will make you more used to doing it—you’ll get into a routine. Proverbs 13:4 (ESV) says, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
I personally love to read at night because that’s when the house is most quiet and it gives me something to think about before I fall asleep, but some people prefer mornings or afternoons.
You don’t even need to set a specific reading time, but it really helps at the beginning to at least choose a general time of day. Keep in mind that it’s not the particular time that matters when you make the commitment. It’s the commitment itself.
2. Experience His Word with Others.
Another thing that has really helped me is to read the Bible with others. When you have accountability and partnership, you’re more likely and motivated to do something.
This will look different for everybody, but some ways that I’ve done this is to go through books of the Bible with girls from church, attend larger group Bible studies, and have weekly studies with my cousin and some of our friends.
All of this has been really beneficial to me and the people that I study with because it leaves us wanting to read even more. The deadlines keep you accountable and the different perspectives shared among the group leave you thinking about something you probably wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.
Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
Godly people help make each other stronger.
3. Experience His Word by Yourself.
You may remember what I said above that my grandparents specifically got me a journal Bible. I really wanted one of these because they have lined space on the side of the pages and allow lots of room for note taking on what you read.
Reading or listening to words will only do so much, but physically taking notes or copywork causes you to slow down and take everything in all the more. We live in a busy culture, so calming our pace isn’t something that comes very easily. However, Jesus calls us to be still. Psalms 37:7 (ESV) says, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”
Also, remember that the amount you read each day isn’t what’s important. You don’t have to dive into a Bible in a year plan. You’ll still learn so much from studying a verse a day.
Final Encouragement
I know that it can be daunting to decide to read your Bible more—it is long, after all—but I can assure you that you will become a stronger follower of Christ for it. We have to be diligent with our reading because it’s through reading God’s Word that we come to know God Himself.
Every single time I open my Bible, I find something new. God reveals things through the Word. No matter if it is a verse that I’ve read a dozen times before or if it is from a book that I haven’t read for months, something always sticks out.
In addition to learning so much more about faith and growing so much closer to God, I’ve also benefited from some of the more technical aspects of reading as well. Now, I find that I can set goals and be consistent a lot easier than I used to.
So don’t be afraid to start small. Make a goal to read one Psalm or half of a chapter a day. The more often you read, the more often you’ll want to and the more you’ll find that you’ve entered a routine.
Are you ready to crack open your Bible?
