Many Christians struggle to read their Bibles daily. Despite having been a preacher for some years, I also struggle with my daily Bible reading. There are many things in our daily schedules that demand our attention, and it is so easy to push our daily Bible reading aside. It may be easy to start a daily Bible reading habit; however, it is much more difficult to maintain the habit and keep it up for the entire year.
This year, our congregation rebooted our daily Bible reading program. We produced monthly booklets with accompanying questions to help us check our understanding of the text, and also to help us make personal application in our lives. This year’s program has personally helped me in my daily Bible reading as well. Honestly, it has been hard work to keep the daily Bible reading program going, but I believe the effort will reap its reward in due time. It is like being on a diet: the effects of our daily dietary habits may not be apparent immediately, but they will definitely show in time to come.
Things you gain from daily Bible reading
1. We learn God’s Word anew every day
Some long-time Christians may have read the Bible from front to back multiple times. Nevertheless, they do not stop reading. The Bible is both “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV); hence, it never goes outdated, and it never grows stale, no matter how many times we read it. The Proverb writer wrote: “The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook” (Proverbs 18:4). Like a deep pool, or a flowing brook, the amount of wisdom we can gain from God’s Word is bottomless, no matter how often we draw from it. Personally, I too have discovered that I still learn new lessons from the books and chapters that I thought I was already familiar with. Hence, there is truly much we can learn from daily Bible reading.
2. We grow in faith every day
Unfortunately, there are Christians who underestimate the importance of Bible study. The Bible is absolutely important for our faith to grow. As it is written, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Furthermore, to the young Christians, the apostle Peter exhorts: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Just as babies cannot grow without milk, Christians cannot grow without God’s Word. Jesus Himself reminds us: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Just as we need to eat physical food every day, even more so, we need to feed on God’s Word regularly.
3. We are reminded of spiritual things every day
God’s Word is so important that Moses instructed the Israelites to “teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6). Every day, all throughout the day, the Israelites were to teach their children about God’s Word. Furthermore, Moses exhorted that they should “bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:7). God’s Word ought to be like reminders that we tie onto our hands or fix between our eyes: it should follow us everywhere we go. In the midst of our busy schedules, daily Bible reading helps to remind us about God every day, so that we will not forget Him.
Tips to help you succeed in your daily Bible reading
1. Set aside a time for reading daily
It may be rhetorical to say this, but if daily Bible reading is not in your schedule, it will not be in your schedule. Hence, we must purpose to set aside a time every day for reading. For some, the best time might be first thing in the morning, while the mind is alert. I know of faithful men who wake up before sunrise to meditate on God’s Word. For some, the best time might be during lunch break. For others, the best time might be at night, after the kids fall asleep. Personally, night-time became my regular time for daily Bible reading.
2. Some days more, some days less
Frankly speaking, there might be days when our schedules are so packed that we do not have time to do the reading for the day. Such days can easily derail our Bible reading plan. One suggestion to counter this problem – which I myself had to do also – is to read ahead during our free days, so that we will not lag behind during our busy days. It may seem a haphazard way to read, but it may help us to keep up with the schedule in the long run.
3. Something is better than nothing
Sometimes, the failure to adhere perfectly to the daily Bible reading schedule causes us to give up. This has happened to me before. However, doing our daily Bible reading behind schedule is better than nothing. Doing our daily Bible reading intermittently is better than nothing. Doing our daily Bible reading haphazardly is better than nothing. Perhaps we had to skip some chapters in order to keep up with the schedule. The most important thing is that we are reading our Bibles and not giving up.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8)
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