Finding Time To Read The Bible During A Busy Day

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the scared writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17

     Occasionally I’m asked what I believe to be the most important activity a Christian can engage in on a daily basis. I suppose such a question could be answered in several ways. A Christian should serve everyday, pray everyday, evangelize everyday, and just generally let their lights shine. However, I firmly believe that the single most important activity a Christian can engage in each day is Bible reading. In His Word God guides us, instructs us, and reveals His extraordinary plan to save us. Would we see spiritual growth in our lives? Getting ourselves into His Word on a daily basis is the way to do it.

     Most Christians know they should read the Bible every day and I believe sincerely desire to do so. However, many days come and go without the Scriptures receiving a single glance simply because our days are so full. Indeed, “I just don’t have the time” is the most common complaint I receive when it comes to daily Bible reading. It is my firm belief that the time does exist in every case, we’ve just got to have our eyes open to find those windows and our hearts prepared to take advantage of them. The following suggestions have been helpful in my life and in the life of many Christians.

Suggestions

-Train yourself to find opportunities. Daily Bible reading is a habit. Habits are formed and developed over time. Do you frequent a particular news site on your computer or phone? Perhaps you still take the daily paper? Do you find the time to read it every day, regardless of how busy your day is? If so, you’ve developed the habit and always manage to find time in your day to do it. The same is true of daily Bible reading. Write yourself notes, put a reminder into your calendar, program your phone to send you a reminder at the same time every day. Habits are learned over time and through regular practice. So, too, will this one.

-Leave a Bible program open on your computer (work and/or home) at all times. A site like biblegateway.com is wonderful for this sort of thing. Just choose the translation you wish to read from and start reading. If the program is always open, and you spend a great deal of time on the computer each day, then it will always be right in front of your face. Take advantage of it.

-Download a free Bible application on your smart phone. Most of us these days have smart phones that travel with us wherever we go. Simply go to your “app store,” type in the word “Bible,” and choose the application you wish to download. Many of them are free and even offer daily reading plans. Again, my preference is Bible Gateway but any application that lets you use the Bible will work. We cannot always carry around the Holy Scriptures in book form but we can keep them with us in digital form at all times. Downloading the Bible to your phone or tablet creates countless opportunities throughout a day. If you’ve not done it, do it now.

-Keep your eyes open! Do you have a couple of minutes between meetings at work? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Do you have a short window before you need to return from lunch? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Does your walk from one class to the next take a couple of minutes? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Are you filling up at the gas station? Set the pump to automatic and pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Are you in a long line to check out in a store? Pull out your phone/tablet and start reading. Obviously this list could go on for a very long time. These few minutes add up and several chapters can be read throughout the day.

-Get out of bed twenty minutes earlier or stay up twenty minutes later. Not all of us have smart phones or tablets, right? What are the one’s who can’t carry a Bible around with them all day supposed to do? If need be, get up earlier and get down later. If you get out of bed twenty minutes earlier, go through your morning routine to prepare for work or school, you’ll have twenty extra minutes before you’ve got to go. Don’t turn on the television or computer, pick up your Bible and read for twenty minutes. Can’t get out of bed twenty minutes earlier? Stay up twenty minutes later and use that time to read.

-Never fail to read because you don’t have time to study! It is quite popular these days to hear it said, “Reading the Bible and studying it are not the same thing!” Unfortunately, that’s often said in a way that seems to deemphasize the foundational importance of simply reading God’s Word. That’s a grave mistake! It’s reading the Bible that creates a hunger to study it. Never imagine that because you don’t have the time to engage in a word study that you cannot benefit from simply reading God’s Word.

     Technology has allowed us to carry the Holy Scriptures around with us digitally wherever we go. Opportunities to read the Scriptures, if only for a few minutes at a time, abound. Busy Christians (and don’t most of us fall into that category?) have found these suggestions and techniques helpful in finding time to read their Bibles each day. May you benefit from them as well!