How to Start a Daily Bible Reading Habit in 2020

Happy New Year! ‘Tis the season to set goals & resolutions. Perhaps one of your resolutions is to start a daily Bible reading habit. If that’s you, then I’ve got all the tips and encouragement to get you started!

Before we dive into the “how” let’s first visit the “why”. A habit is ALWAYS more likely to stick if we are convinced as to why it is worthwhile and important.

Why You Should Start a Daily Bible Reading Habit Today

Like I mentioned previously, establishing a strong “why” should be the first step before implementing any habit in your life. If you can’t come up with a convincing “why”, then perhaps you shouldn’t be spending much time and energy on that habit.

On the other hand, if you neglect to find the “why” altogether, then chances of your new habit lasting beyond that honeymoon period are slim to none. We often get excited to “start something new” or improve our life in some way. That inevitably excitement wears off. Knowing why you started in the first place will keep you going strong even on the days you don’t feel like it!

So now that I have convinced you to first establish “why” a daily Bible reading habit is important, let’s talk about it. I encourage you to take some time to soul search and come up with your own personal convictions, but in the meantime here are three reasons to help get you started.

Grows your Relationship with God

If you are reading this, you probably already have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Not sure if you do? I encourage to read this post that I wrote about being saved by grace and having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you do have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, do you ever feel like you don’t really know Him? You believe you’ve committed your life to follow Him, but you still feel distant. Maybe you desire to know God more, but don’t know where to begin.

If you are married, when you said your vows and committed to being married to your spouse, did you stop building your relationship with your spouse after that day? Probably not. (Hopefully not).

Much like we must intentionally date and grow to know our spouse, we must also nourish our relationship with God by intentionally spending time with Him (for our sake, not His).

One place to start is daily Bible reading. As Christians, we believe that the Bible is God’s word and has full authority. God’s word is His love letter to us. By reading His Word, we get to know His character and His love for us on a much deeper level.

Daily Bible Reading Promotes Sanctification

Have you ever wondered why you struggle with sin even after you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? I think sometimes we fall under that false thinking that the moment we profess our faith in Jesus Christ, repent and seek forgiveness, then we will no longer struggle with sin.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you realize that the sin struggle is still there and unfortunately ever-present. But Jesus never said we would have a struggle-free life. In John 16:33, Jesus reminds us that “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

My pastor recently preached on this topic and I can’t recommend listening to the sermon enough! Go listen to it, he does a tremendous job of describing this process of sanctification and why it is a part of our walk here on earth! Listen now by clicking here.

The bottom line is this, we are a work in progress and are growing closer to Christ or further from Him each and every day. As we spend time daily in the Word and apply it to our walk, we will grow closer to the Lord as the Holy Spirit convicts us, refines us, molds us and shapes through God’s Word into the people God has designed us to be.

Equips you to Defend your Faith

This is important now more than ever. It doesn’t take long to realize when watching the news or listening to the radio, that we live in a fallen world. False teachers are rising to influential positions at an alarming rate and they are sometimes hard to spot. I heard a quote the other day: “The best lies are the ones with the most truth.”

Social media influencers, political leaders and even church leaders that openly claim to be Christ-followers are preaching a cheapened, watered-down version of God’s Word. Claiming that Truth isn’t absolute. They leave out what they don’t like and add-in what sounds good to them.

False teachers are a serious threat to Christians who don’t really know what God’s Word said. They are leading people astray every day who don’t really know what God’s Word says.

As moms, this should get us all worked up! We need to prepare our hearts and minds to be able to recognize false teachers and stand up for TRUTH. Not simply to protect our own salvation, but that of our children! They are being targeted now more than ever with the influx of YouTube, Social Media, and the worldwide web!

Get in your Bible everyday fellow Mom. Prepare yourself, so you can equip those sweet children God has placed in your care.

4 (simple) Steps to Starting a Consistent Daily Bible Reading Habit

Step #1 Get a Bible

If you already have a Bible, then go to Step 2.

If you don’t own a Bible and want to start this immediately (totally recommend), then download the app YouVersion. This is a very popular Bible reading app that offers the Bible in many different translations. You can even listen to the Bible (similar to an Audible experience). This is also a great place to start if you don’t know which version to choose. I recommend starting with NIV, NLT, ESV or NIrV (this last one is good for kids).

If you are wanting to purchase an actual Bible (definitely make this your goal), then I recommend finding a good study Bible. Here are a couple of my favorites:

• Fire Bible (there is also a Student Edition which I highly recommend for college students)
• Life Application Study Bible NLT
• NIV Women of Faith Study Bible (they must not print this one anymore because I can’t seem to find it brand new. Great Bible nonetheless!)

#2 Get a Journal

Making journaling a part of your daily Bible reading habit is a habit you won’t regret. It has helped me take a deeper look at scripture and prayerfully apply it to my life. Otherwise, I hurriedly read through the text and close my Bible not walking away with much application.

Find a journal you love! I highly recommend the My Quiet Time Journal because it has a place for guided journaling AND a section for prayer requests. I keep mine on the shelf next to my Bible & use it every day!

Step #3 Pray & Start Reading

I think this is the place that most people find the most difficult. The Bible is a very large text and can appear intimidating. Should you read it start to finish? Maybe you’ve heard that Leviticus is hard to read? Maybe you grew up in a church where no one read their Bible? Where ever you fall on this spectrum, I can help!

First of all, each day when you sit down to read your Bible, pray that the Lord would send you the Holy Spirit to help you discern, understand and apply the Truths you are about to read. Scripture can sometimes be tricky to understand, I find it much easier when I pray first.

My recommendation is to start in the book of John (4th book of the New Testament). John will give you a pretty good picture of the whole story and introduce you to Jesus in a whole new way. Then read through the rest of the gospels and remainder of the New Testament before tackling the Old Testament.

If you’d like some added daily devotional reading, add in a chapter of Proverbs to your daily Bible reading time. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs so you can repeat that habit each month.

Step #4 Highlight & Journal

Now that you have a Bible you love, a journal in hand and have started reading, you are well on your way to creating a daily Bible reading habit. Here is my final tip for you.

Make it a goal to read at least one chapter each day (more if you’d like). This will have you finishing the entire New Testament in less than a year.

As you read, have your highlighter handy. (This is my favorite highlighter that I use that does not bleed through the pages). The moment you read a verse or two that interests you or that you feel is speaking to you, highlight it. Don’t wait until you are done and try to go back. Highlight as you go, otherwise, you might forget the verse that stood out to you. (I have learned this the hard way… especially if you do your Bible reading time while you are still waking up…).

After you finish reading what you planned for that day, spend about 10 minutes journaling what you observed (focus on your highlighted verse) and how you can apply it to your life. Then prayerfully ask God to help you apply this to your life.

Bonus Tips for Starting a Daily Bible Reading Habit

• Plan for it: Don’t leave it up for chance or plan on reading “if” you have a free moment that day. We all know that those “free moments” seldom come around and if they do they are quickly squelched up by other demands in life. Know what you are going to read and what time you are going to read before the day begins. I use my Intentionally U Planner to plan out a week ahead of time what I am going to be reading in my Bible.
• Wake up a little earlier: I know this can be difficult if you are in the newborn season. But if you are not, it is totally worth it. Getting that meeting with Jesus in the quietness of your home while you sip your coffee is absolutely precious.
• Organize an accountability group: The YouVersion App allows you to choose a Bible Reading plan and then do it with friends. Even if you like to read out of an actual Bible, this gives you a place to log your progress in the sight of your friends. This is the second year I am doing this. Last year four of us read through the entire Bible using this accountability system and this year our group as group to 7 and we are reading aiming for the New Testament, Proverbs, and Psalms. It really is helpful when you make a commitment in the presence of like-minded friends who will cheer you on when you fall off track!