Staying Committed to Reading The Bible

I have hundreds of books sitting on bookshelves at home, and I have read some of those books multiple times. I have spent hours and hours reading the words of those books, getting attached to fictitious characters and their stories. Yet, I still find myself struggling to read the most important book of them all—The Bible.

Can you relate? Being disciplined and reading God’s word has always been hard for me. I go through two-week, sometimes even month long spurts of reading daily, but then I forget a day here and there until it has been a month since I spent any time in the Bible.

While I still do not have it all figured out, I do want to encourage you with these two suggestions:

1. Understand why we need to read God's word

In order to make progress in reading God’s word, we need to understand why it is we need to be reading God’s Word. In her book, “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook,” Adele Ahlberg Calhoun conveys the importance of reading God's word in the following excerpt:

 “There are always other books to read and speakers to listen to.  Of course God does use books and people to speak to us.  But Scripture is a primary way that the Holy Spirit opens us up to the God who is beyond us.  In the Bible God reveals to us both our sin and our belovedness.  Our desires for nourishment, strength, comfort, and joy are all addressed in Scripture.  Reading God’s Word, listening to Scripture on tape, or singing biblical texts all put us in a place to attend to the God who speaks.  Though there is no new word of revelation today, God is still speaking and guiding us personally and intimately through the Word.  Regularly being with God in his Word is a way we open ourselves to truths and guidance outside us.” 

2. Find someone to read with you  

Maybe not someone who actually sits down with you to read scriptures aloud, but someone who will commit to reading a certain number of books or passages with you daily or weekly.  Having someone partner with me has always been a great way to keep me accountable to reading and remembering why I am reading.

God desires so much to be in relationship with His children and speak to us.  Now let's go and start listening!