Discipline: Bible Reading

by Marissa Writes - Monday, June 10, 2013

I believe anyone who has taken on the task of learning a sport or instrument know that there is a need for daily practice, specifically in the fundamentals.

The question then for Christians should follow, what are the fundamentals that need daily practice.

If the first fundamental of basketball is dribbling the ball, or in piano is playing the scales, it is probably safe to put Bible reading in this first level of fundamentals for the purpose of becoming spiritually disciplined.

Is is a surprise that as Christians, looking to experience a real relationship with God, we need to make it a priority to be in God's word daily?

I mean, how are we supposed to really know when we hear God's voice if we do not know the language He speaks. How will we know what His instructions are if we do not know where to even begin listening?

Isaiah 28:26

We are extremely blessed to be living at a time when God's word, in the form of the Bible, is extremely easy to come by. That being said, stop looking for a burning bush, and open your Bible!

Deut 4:36

As a very first step, set a goal time - in minutes - of how long every day you will open your Bible and read. Developing the habit of actually opening your Bible seems to be a great place to start. Here's a small bit that helped me move away from reading the Bible as a form of literature, and reading the Bible as God's living word - say a short, one sentence prayer asking God to reveal a truth to you.

Here is where I recommend finding a "read the Bible in a year" plan. It's a great way to keep you on track, and the options are endless. (I've included a list of links of some great ones at the end of this post)

So now that we are reading our Bible daily let's be honest that this habit can quickly just be that - a habit - a box to check off on our daily chores - no? This is when Scripture studies help.

Again there are many study guides, outline forms, and such that will help you do Scripture study on your own. My personal favorite is the SOAP outline. I know others that benefit greatly from Inductive Bible Study. There are many others, do not feel that you are trapped with just these two ideas. The commonality between Bible study guides is that it forces us to slow down as we read, and really absorb the contents. And here in these contents is where we can hear God's instruction to each of us individually.

Proverbs 1:7

The visual that helps me to stay focused on my times of Bible study is to picture this time as a conversation and it is God's turn to speak. Just like when listening to someone else talk, I have to focus on what the other person is saying, both verbally and non-verbally, in order to truly comprehend their message. If I stop paying close attention I tend to miss some part of their message and this is when misunderstandings occur. So just list and absorb during this time with God.

No worries though, next Monday we will discuss the section of our conversation with God where we get to talk.