5 Simple Tips to Help You Read Your Bible Daily

Let’s talk about our Bible reading habits. Throughout my 3-4 years of involvement in youth ministry and Christian camping, one thing I heard young folks say often is “I know I’m not reading my Bible enough.” Adults can relate, can’t we! Even adults with Bible degrees. Here are 5 things that have helped me get over the barriers to reading God’s word daily; I hope they will help you, too!

1. Read at least one verse every day

You opened your Bible and you just didn’t know what to read. Just read something, even if it’s only one verse. You somehow landed on another genealogy. Just read something else for now. Or, it’s midnight and you haven’t had a moment to breathe all day, much less read a chapter or two of Scripture. Just read something.

It’s okay to set the bar low to start. You will be better off eating a little bit than eating nothing at all. The same is true about the spiritual nourishment in the Bible. As you grow your Bible-reading muscles by reading even one verse a day, you will gain the motivation and energy for more serious Bible Study.

If you’re not convinced just one verse could do any good, just know I consider this the best advice I received in Bible School. I followed it through the busyness of college and a season of spiritual winter. When I came through, I still had God’s word on my heart. One verse at a time.

2. Have a conversation with God every time you read.

It might look something like this: “Hey God, I know you want me reading your Word more. I want it, too, because I know it’s supposed to help me know you better. Somehow it gets to midnight every night and I don’t have time, and I go to bed without reading. Or if I do, I don’t remember what it said the next day. Will you please help me make the time before it is too late each day?”

Whatever it is that keeps you from reading, be honest with God about it! You don’t need a whole fancy prayer. God wants to grow good fruit from you. He’s a good father and will be delighted to teach you to spend time with him in the Bible. He may do it through a quiet conviction to stop what you’re doing and read or an unexpected encouragement from another believer. Asking God for help is exciting because he loves to come through – you just never know how!

Continue that conversation each time you open your Bible. Pray that God will teach you through his word. Ask Him for understanding when it doesn’t make sense. Ask him to help you be in awe of Him if it seems boring. God wants his Word written on your heart – He will help you.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind…”

James 1:5-6

3. Learn the Layout of the Bible 

If not knowing what to read keeps you from reading, you’re not alone. Learn what kinds of books are in the Bible so it will be simpler to determine what you want to read. That way you’ll know exactly where to go when you’re in the mood for some Jewish history, some drop-in wisdom, or the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a quick list of Bible sections:

1. The Torah: Genesis-Deuteronomy. Read the Torah to learn the beginnings of humanity, Israel, who God is, and a lot of genealogy.
2. Historical books: Joshua-Esther. The historical books cover Israel’s growth and troubles as God’s chosen people.
3. Poetry and Wisdom literature: Job-Song of Solomon. Read these books if you’re interested in the problem of suffering, poetry and prayers, snippets of wisdom, and the meaning of life.
4. Prophets: Isaiah-Malachi. Read the major and minor prophets if you’re interested in God’s intense desire for the people of Israel to do what is right and follow him.
5. Gospels and history: Matthew-Acts. Read the Gospels and Acts if you would like to know who Jesus is and how Christianity started.
6. Epistles / Letters: Romans-Revelation. Read the epistles if you’re interested in what the early church struggled with and how God wants us to live as Christians. p.s. Revelation is a prophecy that points to the second coming of Christ.

That list is SUPER condensed, but if something there catches your interest, go read it! Keep an attitude of curiosity to now the Word and know God’s heart. If you want to go deeper and learn more about what you can read in the Bible, check out this blog post.

4. Choose a Bible Translation You Understand

Say you’re reading the Bible and you just keep coming across words that make no sense to you. This makes it hard to get anything out of it, much less motivate you to keep reading it! The translation you read can make a world of difference in how well you understand what you’re reading. When you understand the Bible better, it’s so much easier to come back to it again and again!

There’s a lot of great translations out there. Some of the ones I seem to find most often at local bookstores are:

• English Standard Version (ESV)

• Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
• King James Version (KJV)
• New American Standard Bible (NASB)
• New Living Translation (NLT)
• New King James Version (NKJV)
• New International Version (NIV)
• Revised Standard Version (RSV)

I’m not going to write a whole review of Bible translations here, but I’ll share my favorites: ESV and NASB are the two translations strongly recommended by the Bible colleges I went to. ESV was my buddy well before that. ESV and NASB are a little more on the literal side, which makes them great for study. While I haven’t read it much yet, NET Bible has a lot of footnotes with the Greek and Hebrew words. For all you Bible nerds out there.

NLT is fantastic if you want a little “pre-digested” reading. It’s a legitimate translation, not a paraphrase. I picked up an NLT after I finished my Bible degree so I could just read God’s word and not be a scholar for a while. (It didn’t entirely work, I vibe so well with ESV).

The best part is, you can read all of these versions for FREE on Bible apps and webpages. Take a few minutes to read Bible verses in different translations and see which one works well for you. And if my entirely unacademic section on translations opens up more questions than answers, check out “Is My Bible the Inspired Word of God?” by Edward Goodrick. It’s for every day folks.

5. Track Your Progress!

Last but not least, write down what you read, use a tracking app, or a paper chart. It’s encouraging to look back at what Bible ground you have covered and it gives you ideas about where to go next. I used to write at the top of my journal page what I read that day. Right now, I’m using a printed chart. I like this one from The Things Hannah Loves. It lets you check off each chapter as you read.

Conclusion

Hey, that’s it! 5 tips to help you with your daily bible reading efforts. Here’s a quick recap:

1. Read at least one verse every day.
2. Have a conversation with God every time you read.
3. Learn the layout of the Bible.
4. Choose a Bible translation you understand.
5. Track your progress!

Do any of these tips stick out to you? Do you have any suggestions to add? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Thanks so much for being here and reading my article. If you liked it, please join my email list so you won’t miss the next one! Until next time, beautiful folks!

-Sanna