simple life habits

A Simple Guide on How to Read the Bible

by Jonathan on August 21, 2012

The Bible is an amazing book. It contains wisdom, guidance, inspiration, and the purpose for living. As parents of two kids, my wife and I are focused on preparing our children for life’s opportunities and challenges.

What I often see is a huge gulf between those that desire to read the Bible and those who actually do. Maybe for some, Bible reading was seen as a duty. They did it out of obligation. They read their Bible in order to feel like a good Christian. Whatever we do out of obligation lessens its ability to impact us.

I want you to see the Bible as a treasure hunt. The deeper you dig into the Bible, the richer it becomes. It is impossible to mine all of the truths of the Bible in a lifetime. Take the challenge of seeing the Bible as an adventure.

How Should I Read the Bible?

The Bible itself claims to be a treasure hunt. Proverbs 2:4-5 tells us:

4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Stop seeing Bible reading as an item on your to do list. Instead, see it as an adventure with God. Let Him show you things you never saw before. If you don’t know where to start, here are few ideas for you:

Journal Through the Book of Psalms

How Should I Read the Bible

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I see the book of Psalms as one big open journal for me to read. King David wrote most of the Psalms. In it, he shares his frustrations, celebrations, and aggravations with God. At times, reading the Psalms feels like you just stumbled onto someone’s private conversations with God.

When I was 18, I first began to read the Bible for myself. I started by journaling through the book of Psalms. I would read a psalm, then write my thoughts, questions, and insights about what I just read. Give it a try!

A Proverb a Day Will Keep Trouble Away

Another great place to develop a habit for reading the Bible is the book of Proverbs. Proverbs was written by the wisest person to ever live, King Solomon. He wrote it for his sons. He wanted to share with them all they needed to know to succeed in this life.

The book covers how to make right choices with money, relationships, business endeavors, and much more. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. This makes it ideal to read one chapter a day. Whatever day it is in the month, just turn to that chapter in Proverbs. In one month, you will have read the entire book of Proverbs.

A Few More Tips for Reading Your Bible

  • Don’t be all or nothing – some people get quickly discouraged if they miss a few days. Just pick up again today where you left off.
  • Know the difference between Bible reading and Bible study- This was an important truth for me to learn. I have often become frustrated with trying to find time for Bible study each day. Bible study is when you dig further into the Scriptures by looking up words and reading commentaries. Sometimes it is good to just read the Bible.
  • Go with your personality – I love variety. It is just my personality. My wife is more of a steady-plodder. I use to get discouraged when I would see here start a reading plan or study and see it all the way through. Me on the other hand, I would have 3 different reading plans going on different days. There is no right or wrong here. Just glean from this great Book!

What advice do you have for developing the habit of reading the Bible? Please take a moment and comment below.

Article by Jonathan

Jonathan has been blogging since 2009 and is still in awe that the Creator of the Universe desires to have a relationship with him. His passions include spending time with his kids, reading, March Madness, surprise get-a-way trips with his wife, and watching funny YouTube videos.

  • http://twitter.com/scottburdett Scott Burdett

    Jonathan- Good stuff. May I add that this is a struggle even with pastors. Your approaches that you listed are ones that I have followed and there are a million reading plans out there. Pick one and start reading. May I add, just as you suggested to journal through the Psalms, try praying through the Psalms as well. Lastly, just don’t read the Scriptures, think through what you read, mediate on it, look for insights or nuggets that you can apply that day in your life. To journal your thoughts, as you stated, is a method to lead you to dwell/meditate on what was just read.

    Life is full of trials and adversity, so why not go the true source of wisdom, encouragement and inspiration? Thanks for the post!

  • Jonathan Milligan

    Great tips Scott. Thanks for sharing.

  • Angee

    Jonathan, thank you for posting this. I have been remiss in reading my Bible. I have strayed away far too long and you have helped me to see how to incorporate it with no pressure and how to relate to it. When you wrote that the book of Psalms is King David’s journal, it really made sense. Thank you.

    • Jonathan Milligan

      Thanks Angee. Psalms reminds me a lot of my own journal. Lots of ups and downs, but God is still good.

  • Mike Bormann

    Thanks for posting this. I think we should read the Bible book-by-book. Reading short passages randomly from the Bible runs the risk of getting things out of context. I don’t mean that you have to read a book of the Bible in one sitting, just stick with reading one book until you’ve finished it.

    • Jonathan Milligan

      great point. Reading the Bible in its context is important. we get in trouble when we take one verse and try to make it mean what we want it to mean.