Finding Time for The Bible

Regularly reading the Bible can be a challenge for many. Many of whom do have a desire and intent to want to be a regular fixture in their lives. I find myself in not infrequent conversations with those expressing this and asking if there are any practical aids to help get into this practice. Here’s some things I commonly suggest.

1. Incorporate reading the Bible with other habits. It is difficult to develop a habit out of thin air. But there are a lot of other things one does regularly you can simply add reading the Bible to as part of your normal routine like, eating breakfast, drinking coffee or reading the news.

2. Put your Bible by your bed. When I first started regularly reading the Bible this is what helped me the most was not allowing myself to go to sleep without reading it. Then, you have the added benefit that it is right there in the morning and you can pick it up and read even while you’re still in bed if you like.

3. Listen to the Bible in your car. If you hit snooze too many times and had to skip breakfast, a good option for you can be to have the Bible ready to listen to in your car. You can get the whole Bible on audio form to either put on CDs or an mp3 player. AUDIO BIBLE ESV

4. Don’t play roulette with the Bible. Read through a book of the Bible, like a chapter a day or reading the same chapter every day for a week. When you’re just reading random stuff can be hard to be motivated when you’re not really working through anything.

5. Do more than just read the Bible. Really take in a word or a phrase or a verse and chew on it. Try and call it to mind multiple times throughout the day and consider the various ways it is relevant to your life. This will make your Bible reading time much more meaningful then just scanning words on a page with your eyes.

6. Get into a discipleship relationship and/or group that asks what you’re reading in the Bible. When you know someone is going to ask you what you’ve been reading it helps discipline yourself to make sure to read so you don’t sound and look stupid. Being accountable for reading isn’t always a bad thing, it can provide a good motivation.

7. Memorize verses of the Bible. That way if you can’t find your Bible or you just don’t happen to have it with you (BTW a good trick is to get it on your phone, then you always have it!), then you can just call a Scripture to mind and read it in your head. Often times when I go to bed, I’ll have left my Bible in the other room and instead I’ll just recite a verse outloud for my wife and I before I go to sleep.

These are just seven helpful hints to help you in the endeavor to read the Bible everyday. May God bless you as you seek to “Meditate on God’s law day and night (Psalm 1:2).”

- Pastor Duane

Here’s a few other helpful things on the same subject:
- Devotions Aren’t Magic by Jon Bloom (Executive Director of Desiring God)
- Bible Reading 101 by Duane Smets (a more lengthy address on the same subject).