You’ve heard it before. We’ve all heard it before. Reading the Bible is important. It’s the Word of God—the only reliable way to hear God speak and to know God. How can we know God’s truth if we don’t read it?
It makes sense, right? But it’s easier said than done. The Bible isn’t exactly easy to understand, and there are plenty of people that just don’t like reading. I was raised as a Christian, but I didn’t start reading the Bible in-depth until college, let alone reading it every day.
But as a Christian, you cannot grow in your faith or relationship with God without knowing God’s Word deeply. It is how we are able to know how we should live and walk in Christ. We’re meant to love and meditate on it. As Scripture says:
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16 (ESV)
But where should you even start? The Bible is a huge book. It seems like such a daunting endeavor. Here are some ideas to get started reading God’s Word in easy-to-manage ways that can easily develop into a daily habit.
DailyLectio (the Lectionary)
First on the list is reading from the lectionary. The lectionary is a pre-selected collection of Bible passages that are read in the Catholic and Lutheran churches on a 3-year liturgical schedule. Usually, there’s a New Testament passage, an Old Testament passage, and a psalm. If you struggle reading the Bible from beginning to end, or feel intimidated at the thought of trying to create your own reading schedule, this is a great option.
During Lent of 2018, I used an app called DailyLectio to help me get in the habit of reading the Bible every day. It was so easy to just open the app and the readings for the day were ready to go. Reading from the lectionary is also really cool because there are Christians all over the world who are reading the same passages in their churches on the same day. It’s a great way to feel more connected to Christians throughout the world through God’s Word.
Daily Proverb/Psalm/Verse
Maybe you’re not much of a reader and 3-4 passages in the lectionary feels like too much for you. That’s understandable. In that case, reading a daily proverb, psalm, or verse may be better for you. There are several apps out there that provide a single verse every day with little reminders for you to read it.
I know YouVersion always has a daily verse, but there are several other Bible apps that provide short daily readings as well. I use the Proverb-A-Day Bible Proverbs app to get a little bit of Proverbs in my morning routine. There’s also the Psalm of the Day app if you want to read the praises and songs of the Bible.
It’s not a huge dose of Scripture every day, but a little is better than none at all.
Daily Devotionals
If you’re okay with reading more but want guided teaching and commentary on what you read, a daily devotion might be the best fit for you. There are several books and apps out there with short, daily devotionals, ranging from 3 minutes to 15 minutes long. You could start small with only 3-5 minute devotionals, like 3-Minute Devotions with Charles Spurgeon, or using an app like YouVersion, She Reads Truth, or First 5.
Or, if you want to go deep in theology, you could take on a devotional book like My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, any book by N.T. Wright, or a book by a different theologian.
Ultimately, you should choose a devotional that will be easy for you to maintain, will feed you spiritually, and will help you understand God’s Word.
Read Aloud With Other People
This option is one that I think most people don’t think about. Historically, people shared God’s Word orally. Not everyone had the ability to read, and in biblical times, most people didn’t have hard copies of the Scriptures. Only the Jewish temples had those scrolls. Christian tradition is steeped with this communal listening of the Bible.
Reading aloud with others engages you more by having to pay attention to both listening to the text and following along in your own Bible. On top of that, meeting with people regularly to read together is helpful in keeping you accountable and sticking to your commitment to reading the Bible. It’s easier to do something when others are doing it with you.
Audio Bibles
So what if you really don’t like reading? Like, you just can’t do it. It’s boring. You fall asleep. It hurts your eyes. You can’t focus. Welcome to the world of audio Bibles! As an auditory person myself, it’s sometimes easier for me to engage with a story that I can listen to instead of reading it. I’ll be completely honest—reading often puts me to sleep. It’s really frustrating at times, but that’s just how it is. Audio Bibles may be an option that can engage you in a way that is easier for you to process.
I know what you’re thinking. “I can’t stand that automated voice that’s used for audio Bibles.” I get it. When I speak of audio Bibles, I’m not referring to the audio option on normal Bible apps. I’m talking about apps that were created primarily as an audio Bible.
Bible.is is a great free app that offers audio readings of the Bible in several translations and languages, complete with background music, and a few options for the voice of the reader. Plus, Bible.is has a few short video clips that you can watch to give you a visual, cultural context of what you’re hearing.
The Word of Promise is also an excellent audio Bible, but does cost more for the quality. This app offers a full dramatized reading of the New King James Bible, with different voices for each character. Utilizing over 600 voice actors and an original music score, it’s a one-of-a-kind Bible listening experience. Lifetime ownership of the full audio Bible costs $39.99, but it’s totally worth it if you’re more of an auditory processor.
My Current Favorite: The BibleProject’s ReadScripture App
While I have several of these apps and have used all of them at one point, my current favorite for daily Bible reading is the ReadScripture app by the BibleProject and Crazy Love Ministries. I mention in my post about the BibleProject.
I’m using it to help me read the Bible in a year, from beginning to end. The videos at the beginning of books give me context for the book before I start reading, and everything is organized easily. Just open the app, click the next section, and that’s my reading for the day.
Now, I do have a daily devotion almost every morning with the book The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms by Timothy and Kathy Keller, as well as my daily proverb, and several Bible readings for classes (in Mark, Luke, and John). I am a missionary, after all. God, Jesus, and the Bible are kind of my life. But it didn’t use to be that way.
So don’t be discouraged or intimidated by the Bible. There are so many ways to start your journey in reading and knowing God’s Word. Don’t give up. Start small, and build your way up. God’s Word is beautiful and full of spiritual life.
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Psalm 119:33-35