Okay, you’ve made one of those dreaded New Year’s resolutions: “I’m going to read the Bible everyday this year.”
How long did it last this time? About the same amount of time that your losing weight resolution did?
Just like anything useful, if you really want to do it, then you need to working on carving out time in your day to read the Bible.
We all have the same 168 hours in the week, so it’s a matter of managing that time so that you’ll have more time to read your Bible every day.
With that in mind, here are six ways you can find more time to read the Bible everyday.
1. Get up earlier.
This is definitely not my favorite way to get more time. It’s hard enough for me to get up in the morning at my normal time, but to do it even earlier? No way!
But if this is the only way you can figure out how to gain more time to read your Bible everyday, then you need to consider it. If you’re like I am in the morning, then maybe you need to read on and try one of other ways.
2. Stay up later.
Now this one appeals to me much more! I’d much rather stay up late than get up early. Although many people like to do their daily Bible reading first thing in the morning, I think there’s something to be said about doing it late at night, before you go to bed. You can settle in, and read as a way to wind down from a busy day. Going to sleep with God’s Word on your mind is not a bad thing! Try it if you’re a night owl.
3. Watch less television to free up some time.
We spend an incredible amount of time each day watching television. Look it up online if you don’t believe me (we’ll talk about online in a bit). We can get hundreds of channels, yet many times we have our remotes in hand, surfing through channels while saying, “There’s nothing on.”
How about putting down that remote and picking up your Bible instead? I can guarantee that there’s always “something on” in the Bible.
4. Spend less time on social media and the Internet.
Yes, you can find even more stuff online and on the various social media sites than on the TV. But do you really need to always be looking at and doing all that stuff? How many times have you gotten on a social media site, then looked at the time and realized you’d just wasted an hour doing that? You could have been reading your Bible instead.
I’ve read about people putting themselves on a strict time limit when using social media and the Internet. That’s a great idea if you want to have time to read the Bible everyday.
5. Always have a Bible with you.
This sounds harder than it really is. With all the advances in technology, it’s actually easy to always have a Bible with you. Now, I’m not talking about those huge study Bibles that are so heavy to carry that you almost need a cart to take it somewhere. But if you carry a cell phone, a so-called “smart” phone (that’s a subject for another day), then you can find any number of apps where you can download the Bible to have it convenient for reading. So if you have to wait for something, or if you’re in a line, just whip out your phone and read some verses of Scripture. If you have to wait a long time, maybe you need to look up some verses on patience!
Another way technology has made reading the Bible easier is through e-readers.I really enjoy reading, so my e-reader is with me almost all the time. I have several different versions of the Bible on my e-reader that I can pull up any time I want to read from God’s Word. Some you can even download for free.
6. Ask God to show you how to make more time for Bible reading.
This one should have been first. If you can’t get up earlier, stay up later, watch less television, spend less time on social media and the Internet and always have a Bible with you, then you need to ask God how to make more time for Bible reading. God is always there, always with us, and just a prayer away from us. Prayer is a great activity to add to your Bible reading. God will show you how to live your life through His Word and by staying in close communication through prayer.
What is prayer? Well, that’s a great subject for another day!