Five Ways to Build a Consistent Bible Reading Habit

 Simply put, you cannot be a faithful follower of God if you do not speak to him in prayer or hear from him in his Word. While we all (hopefully) know that, those without an established habit of daily Bible reading and prayer may be wondering how to get there. Here are five tips to help you start to read the Bible every day.

 

1. Vow to Read Something Every Day

This advice came from my middle school Sunday School teacher, and while I haven’t followed her advice perfectly, I still hear her reminder in my head when I’m tempted to skip Scripture reading because I don’t have time for multiple verses or chapters. Even if I don’t have several minutes to read, I can stop and read my Bible app’s verse of the day and briefly meditate on it, or turn to a favorite passage and read it quickly. Once I decided I didn’t want to go to sleep with reading something from God, reading a lot from God became much easier.

 

2. Start with Simple Books and Genres

If you have trouble reading anything every day, then don’t begin to work through a difficult book on your own. You shouldn’t neglect reading books like Isaiah, Leviticus, and Revelation forever, but when you’re trying to form a consistent Bible reading habit, start by reading something easier to understand and apply. I would recommend starting with one of the Gospels, shorter New Testament letters, Psalms, or Proverbs.

 

3. Pray For God to Help You Read and Enjoy His Word

God knows your feelings, so if you aren’t feeling like reading his Word or aren’t enjoying reading, talk to him about it. God cares even more about your Bible reading than you do, he will not turn you away when you ask for his help.

 

4. Ask Friends to Hold You Accountable

 

Nobody likes to be asked if he’s done something he should when he knows he hasn’t done it. But if you aren’t reading your Bible every day and know you should, whatever awkwardness or embarrassment you need to face to be faithful in listening to the LORD your God is worth it!  Your friend doesn’t even need to be confrontational in asking you. I have a dear friend of mine who asks nearly every time he talks to me, “How’s your walk with the Lord?” Simply asking me that open-ended question is a great reminder for me to make time for private devotions.

 

5. Use A Study Bible

A major obstacle, or at least an alleged obstacle, to many people’s personal Bible study is that they can’t understand the text. If that’s the case, use a study Bible. A good study Bible has notes to explain the Scriptures at the bottom of the page in a smaller font, written by expert biblical scholars. The notes are there every time you’d like a better understanding of a verse and are easy to ignore when you don’t want to read them. If you don’t have a study Bible already, then get one. A study Bible is probably the wisest single purchase a Christian can make for her spiritual growth. With dozens of excellent study Bibles available, recommending just one is hard, so I’d recommend getting the standard (Translation Name) Study Bible for whatever your preferred translation. My favorite is The ESV Study Bible, but the NIV Study Bible, NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, and CSB Study Bible, and The Life Application Study Bible are all excellent as well. Find a study Bible you like the most and start reading!

 

6. Read or Listen to a Devotional Book

A devotional book written by an experienced Bible teacher is a great encouragement, and most are written to be read in just a few minutes. If you want to make a habit of reading daily, starting with a devotional is a great way to read a bit each day and be sure you understand it. Aside from my own devotionals, my favorite devotionals are Truth for Life and Solid Joys; both are available for free online.

 

Conclusion

These are just six of the potential dozens or hundreds of tips that can help you be a regular listener of God in his Word. You can spend hours upon hours researching the “best” translation, reading productivity and habit-forming advice, and more, the most important thing in your Bible reading is simply reading the Bible. May God bless us with the discipline to read, love, and apply his precious Word!