Jul 14, 2016
Daily Bible reading is an excellent habit for every Christian for many reasons. Every believer can read the Word of God, and every believer needs the Word of God. Since this is true, it’s good for us to develop a habit of reading God’s Word every day.
In this podcast, we’ll cover a few practical points on how we can build up a daily Bible reading habit.
First, pray to receive a hunger for God’s Word.
Psalms 119:103 says, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” In this verse, the psalmist describes his taste for God’s Word. We want to have the same hunger for God’s Word as the psalmist, and we can ask God to give us a hunger and a taste for His Word.
Second, choose a set time to read.
To maintain a habit, it’s good to have a set time to read the Word. Mornings are excellent times to read, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, but other times like during lunch or before going to bed can also be good. Having a scheduled time will help us consistently remember to read by making it a part of our daily routine.
Third, read consecutively.
Many of us have read here and there in the Bible. But a good way to help us regularly and consistently read the Word is to read it consecutively, chapter by chapter and book by book. When we do this, we don’t have to decide what to read each time, and as we read it cover to cover we’ll begin to see what a cohesive book the Bible is.
Fourth, turn your heart to the Lord before reading.
Every time we come to the Word, it’s good to turn our heart to the Lord Jesus. Before we start our Bible reading, we can simply pray something like this:
“Lord, as I come to Your Word, I turn my heart to you. I open to You and to Your speaking. Speak to me, wash me, and shine more light from Your Word on me today. Dear Lord, there is so much more for me to see in Your Word. Enlighten me more as I read today.”
Praying a simple prayer like this whenever we come to the Bible will help us turn our heart fully to the Lord and be open to anything He’d like to speak to us in His Word. By opening our heart and spirit we’ll contact the Lord in His Word and His Word will be food to us.
Fifth, pray over what you read.
Sometimes as we’re reading the Word, a certain verse stands out to us. It may comfort or convict us, or seem to apply exactly to our situation. At other times a verse may perplex us. Whatever our reaction, when we’re touched by a verse, we can pray what we’ve read back to the Lord. We might thank Him or praise Him for certain portions, or we might ask Him to show us what a verse means, or just talk with Him about another.
In this way the Bible can be a prayer book to us, helping us to spend time with the Lord. As we practice this, the Word will become more than words on a page to us; it will become a place where we meet with our dear Lord Jesus.
Sixth, keep track of your reading.
It’s very encouraging to keep track of what we’ve read. One way to keep track of your reading is to check off what you’ve finished somewhere in your Bible. You can use a blank page or the table of contents to check off each book as you read it. You can also mark the number of times you’ve read the whole New Testament and the whole Old Testament. There are also online tools available like ReadHisWord.com and LettheWord.com that can help you keep track of your reading.
Keeping track encourages us in our habit. For example, if you read one chapter per day you may think you’re going too slowly. But even if you only read one chapter per day, you’ll finish the entire New Testament in under a year. After five years you might look back at your record and find that you’ve read the whole New Testament seven times! Seeing this kind of progress really encourages us to continue on.
Finally, treasure your Bible reading time.
Since reading the Word daily is so important for us as Christians, it’s good to treasure and guard the time we’ve set aside to enjoy the Word of the Lord. Because our lives are so full of things that can interrupt or distract us, we really have to be active in guarding the time we choose.
For example, some people find that using an electronic device for daily Bible reading is less than ideal because of the distractions of email, text messages, and other things being only a click away. In this case, to lessen distraction so that your whole attention is given to His Word, you could try using a print version of the Bible during your Bible reading times.
A habit of daily Bible reading will lay a foundation for our Christian life, strengthen our Christian faith, and help us to know the Lord Jesus in a deeper way. May God grant us all His grace to daily read His Word so that we can be brought on to the full knowledge of the truth!