As Christians, we often start off with the best of intentions when it comes time to start reading the Bible, but sooner or later, the demands of life set in, and our Bible study habits go out the window.

It can be especially difficult when we have young children to stick to our routine of Bible reading, but it is more than worth the effort. Sometimes, a shift in our mindset can help us read the Bible more regularly and reap all the benefits of scripture.

As Christians, we often have the wrong idea about why we need to spend time in God’s word on a daily basis. We may think this is something we do to please God, and it becomes a box on our checklist of things we need to do to be a good Christian. The truth is that God’s word was written for us so that we could grow and benefit in a number of ways.

When we fail to spend time with God and read the word on a daily basis, it can be due to a number of heart issues, and understanding why we need the word of God can be the key to how to be consistent with Bible study. Let’s get BACK INTO STUDYING THE BIBLE, consistently, together! 

5 Tips for Staying Consistent with Bible Study

Get in Touch With Your Hunger

1 Peter 2:2 says, ‘Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation’.

Put as simply as possible, God wants us to grow up in our Christian walk, and He does not want us to remain was children. This, however, should not be confused with the fact that our faith in God and in His promises should be like that of a child’s.

While we must simply believe in the word of God the way that a child would, we are to mature in the way we live our lives as Christians. The more time that we spend walking with God, the greater our imitation of Him should be. 

You can see many examples of this in scripture, as the apostles sometimes displayed childish behavior in front of the Savior, such as arguing among themselves over who was the greatest to wanting to call down fire from heaven to swallow up a town.

Some of these same apostles would later go on to lay down their lives for their belief in Jesus as the Messiah, disciple others, and be present at the day of Pentecost. Peter would later be seriously tested and would write the book of Peter as admonishment for those suffering for their faith, and John would write the book of Revelation.

Recognize the fact that you need to grow up in your faith and that the word of God is your food. Learn to strongly crave this milk until you can feast on meatier passages of scripture as you learn how to study the Bible. Resist becoming satisfied, and endeavor to stay hungry for the word of God, so you will become inclined to partake of it each and every day and come to understand who you are in Christ. Over time, with Christ in you, you’ll become like the tree planted by the waters as described in the first Psalm. 

Make it About Your Relationship with Jesus

Reading your Bible isn’t something you do for God. It is actually something you do with God. The Bible is all about Jesus, and if you want to develop your relationship with Him, you can do so by reading His word.

It’s not uncommon to hear Christians lament that they wish they knew Jesus better, and many even wonder at times whether He is even still walking with them. If that is you, and you know you’ve been born again, be assured that the Bible says He will never leave nor forsake you.

If you’re feeling disconnected from Jesus, it could be because you aren’t spending time in His word. This is because the Bible is how Jesus speaks to us. If you’re in a season where you don’t know if Jesus is speaking to you, spend some time in the word of God, and see if you do not feel closer to Him than you do now. View your Bible reading as an opportunity to learn how to spend time with God, because that’s exactly what it is.

Resist Becoming Legalistic

As daughters of God, we can easily become rigid in our approach to reading our Bibles, and this can make us feel guilty when we slip up and forget to get into His word. A grace-filled perspective can help us become more regular, as heavy expectations can turn what should be a life-giving routine into something we begin to view with dread.

Jesus did not come to wear us out, but He actually came to set us free. He says in Matthew 11:28: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’.  The idea is to come to the word of God to have your burdens lifted and not to view it as another burden that you have to carry. Daughters of God with the best of intentions can become weighed down when they hold an unrealistic view of scripture reading. View it as meeting your needs instead of it meeting a need that God has.  

Understand the Season You Are In

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens’. If you have little ones, you may not be able to read your Bible first thing in the morning, especially if you are nursing.

You may be awakened at 3 a.m. by shrieks from your little one who needs to be fed, and your quiet time with God may not look like everyone else’s. Understand that this is okay and that there is no perfect time to read the scriptures.

You can create your routine a different way, for example, by leaving your Bible open and reading whenever your children are occupied for five or ten minutes. You may ask your significant other to give you twenty minutes a day to study God’s word at a specific time if your children are little, or you could use naptime to delve into the scripture.

You can also find audio versions of the Bible that available for free to listen to as you prepare food or when you are exercising. The key is to being consistent with God is to be diligent with the spare moments that you have, whenever those moments may be.

Use it to Set Your Compass

Women often ask what God’s will is for their life. Coincidentally, these are the same women who struggle with finding time to read God’s word. We discover God’s will as we dive into His word so it’s vital for us to find regular time to read the Bible. Here’s where we  find our marching orders to know what small steps to take every day to get to where God would have us be.

When a ship is sailing on the ocean, their compass must be properly set to avoid hitting the rocks. 1 Timothy 1:19 says: ‘Holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith’.

To avoid shipwreck, you need to understand God’s ways by daily reading His word. Isaiah 55:9 says, ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are may ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’.

We can’t know the thoughts of God unless we read His word, and a proper understanding of the reasons why we need to read the Bible can help us stay more consistent, exciting our hunger, and helping us to devour the scriptures each and every day.  

I hope these tips help you establish consistency in your daily Bible time. Be sure to join our email community below for more tips, printables, and resources!