Reading the Bible is an act of worship, a pastime, a skill, an art, a duty and a delight.
The Bible is an ancient library of books that takes a long time to get through. But it’s worth making a start today and you’ll be amazed how much you gain, quite quickly.
A journey awaits you…
The Bible is God’s book. It is unique. It is fully inspired by Him.
And it was written by real human hands.
Therefore, we’d suggest approaching it with these three principles in mind:
READ Effectively
Read it in a way that you will understand and enjoy.
Don’t get stuck in plans or practices that do not work for you. Consider a change of approach.
READ Accurately
There are good and bad interpretations.
Love the writer of the book by trying your best to understand what they meant to say.
READ Devotionally
Prayer and reading should go hand in hand.
God is trying to teach and transform you with the Bible, so approach it with that in mind.
Some translation are not good. But most simply differ in their approach.
The key is to find one that you will find simplest to read, and then be open to reading others when you struggle to understand something.
Below are three examples that we’d recommend choosing from.
There are so many helpful teachers out there, who write study guides to help Bible readers of all abilities.
Here are three of the best, free resources available.
Making Bible reading a daily or weekly habit will really help in the long run. You might need to reevaluate this when you move into different seasons of life. But doing something often will be really beneficial.
Make sure you choose a plan that’s realistic for you, otherwise you’ll give up and lose enthusiasm quickly.
Read whole books
Generally it’s best to read a book of the Bible all the way through. That’s how they were intended to be read*.
*Exceptions might include the Psalms and Proverbs, which are often very helpful when they are interspersed throughout your daily readings.
There are times to simply read or listen to sections of Scripture, but generally it will be really helpful to make it an interactive experience.
Some people annotate verses in a paper Bible. Some keep a journal of their daily reflections, others use visual illustrations to help their memory. You need to find something that works for you. The point is for your reading to go from passive to active.
A few helpful questions to use when journalling are:
See example from Proverbs 18 below
Remember: reading the Bible and prayer should go hand in hand. The Bible is God’s primary way that He speaks to us, and prayer is how we speak back to Him.
Using the Scripture that you’ve just read to guide your prayers is a super helpful skill. It helps you to reflect on what God has been saying and how you’re responding to it. It then enables you more clearly to pray in line with God’s desires for the world around you.
See some examples from the Psalms here.
