We’ve been given such a gift by having God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” If you’re not already in the habit of daily bible reading, these 10 Bible Reading Tips will help encourage you with getting started.
If you miss a day or two, dust yourself off and dive back in!
Bible Reading Tips
Bible Reading Tips #1 – Find a bible that you understand.
If the bible you have is hard for you to read or understand, get a translation that works for you.
I recently heard the story of some young adults receiving a bible and being blown away that it was actually readable because they thought all bibles were in the New King James translation.
There are numerous translations that are clear and easy to understand and it makes all the difference when reading your bible. I offer several recommendations on translations and types of bibles in this post: Best Bible For Beginners Summary: ESV, NIV, or NLT translations are my preferences and I highly recommend a study bible.
Bible Reading Tips #2 – Make it a priority.
Martin Luther once said, “I have so many things to do today, I dare not ignore my time with God.”
When you strip all things away, reading the bible and setting aside time with God ultimately boils down to making a choice. It’s easy to let this choice fall behind other matters that may seem more pressing but the reality is, that this single choice to spend time alone with God in His Word influences and impacts all other choices.
Make reading the bible a priority and guard this time as the most precious part of your day.
Bible Reading Tips #3 – Pray.
Pray a simple prayer praising God and expressing your desire to know Him more. As you begin reading, pray 2 Timothy 3:16 from above asking Him to teach, correct, and train you in righteousness.
I love that the bible is full of God’s promises that He will indeed answer these very prayers!
Hosea 6:3 promises: “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” What an incredible guaranteed promise!
Or Psalm 32:8: “The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”
Or Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring”
Bible Reading Tips #4 – Seek to hear from Him.
D.L. Moody once said, “In our prayers, we talk to God. In our bible study, God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
There is no other voice more important than God’s voice and it’s the one voice we should absolutely be desperate to hear. When we open our bibles to spend time in God’s Word, we’re perfectly positioning ourselves to hear from Him!
This thrills me! To fathom the God of the universe longs to be in a relationship with us and to speak to us! He’s given us His precious Word and the ability to commune and be in a living relationship with Him! What a privilege we’ve received!
Bible Reading Tips #5 – Trust the Holy Spirit to work in you.
This is huge. Many times we may start reading our bible and feel like nothing is happening. Our problem is that we base way too many things on our feelings and not on truth.
Even if you don’t “feel” like you got anything out of your reading on a particular day, trust that God is in-process of transforming your heart and mind because He’s given us the Holy Spirit to do so! His power is at work within you! (Ephesians 3:20)
John 16:13 tells us, “when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.” He enables us to understand and interpret God’s Word, guiding and leading us each day.
Bible Reading Tips #6 – Reflect on God’s Word.
As you read the bible, spend time meditating and reflecting on God’s Word. Think about what it teaches you about God and who you are. Consider memorizing scripture or a verse that sticks out to you.
Engage with the text by considering and reflecting on how you can grow to know God more by what you just read.
Bible Reading Tips #7 – Follow a Bible Reading Plan.
Find a bible reading plan to follow and use that as a guide for each day.
David Platt has a great free bible reading plan to read through the Bible with one chapter from the Old Testament and one chapter from the New Testament. I love this plan because he also has a daily podcast called Pray the Word that goes along with each day’s reading where he prays a verse from scripture. Each podcast is anywhere from 3-5 minutes a day.
Another great free bible reading plan is Truth for Life.
I also offer free topical monthly bible reading plans on particular topics I’ve studied.
Bible reading plans are excellent tools to guide your reading so you’re not just randomly flipping between pages with no direction on where to start or go.
Bible Reading Tips #8 – Journal.
Now before you dismiss this one, hear me out. Journaling can be done electronically, with pen and paper, doodling, or simple bullet points. It’s an excellent way to write out what sticks out to you, questions that you have, ponderings, or whatever you believe the Lord is revealing to you.
Journaling is also a great way to record your time and thoughts with God and look back down the road to see how He’s revealed Himself to you! Writing down what He shows you or teaches you is a powerful way to engage with God.
I love this quote by Dawson Trotman on journaling, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through your fingertips.”
Bible Reading Tips #9 – Guard against distractions.
Imagine you were invited to spend time with the king of a country. Upon arrival, you would make sure everything was in order to have his undivided attention.
The King of kings does this for us every single day! He’s ready and waiting to meet with us – one-on-one and the only thing that has to happen is for us to come to Him. So carve out this sacred time with Him with parameters set up to keep it sacred.
Turn off notifications, silence the cell phone, go to a quiet place, get up extra early or stay up a little later. Don’t let distractions keep you from your King.
Bible Reading Tips #10 – Apply what you read.
The Bible is meant to be lived out, not just taken in. There are three ways that are often recommended to help apply scripture:
- Apply it to your thoughts – how does what you read transform your thoughts?
- Apply it to your desires – how does what you read transform your desires?
- Apply it to your actions – how does what you read transform your actions?
Bible Reading Tips
I hope these 10 Bible Reading Tips have inspired and encouraged you to start reading your bible each day! There is no other voice than God’s voice that we should passionately pursue to hear.
For additional resources, check out these posts:
It’s very helpful to me to study my Bible
Thank you❤🌹🙏 very much ma’am