9 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Read Your Bible
Hey, y’all! Happy Thursday! We’re only one month away from Easter, one of the holiest days of the year and a favorite holiday of mine! Until then, we are currently still in the season of Lent!
If any of you grew up in the Catholic Church like I did, I’m sure you’re very familiar with Lent. If you’re not, it’s a religious observance that begins on Ash Wednesdays and ends right before Easter Sunday (with Palm Sunday and Good Friday also taking place beforehand). The purpose of Lent is the preparation leading up to the holiday through prayer, almsgiving, and self-denial. One of the main things that occurs is fasting and giving up something, as a way to pay tribute to Jesus dying on the cross and saving us from sin. Lent is especially a really great opportunity to draw closer to God and to dive more into His Word!
I absolutely love and value my quiet time with Jesus, but there definitely days when it feels much harder to sit down and be still for. I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes having the motivation to read my Bible can be tough. Some days I have the energy, then some days I don’t, whether I have time in my schedule or not. I will say that I notice a HUGE difference on days where I start off by spending time with Jesus compared to days where I don’t start off by spending time with Him. When I start my day in the morning diving into Scripture with my highlighter in one hand (and coffee in my other of course 😋) and pray for a good day, it makes such a big positive impact on me spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The days that aren’t spent with Jesus bring uncertainty, but the days that are spent with Him bring contentment!
If any of y’all out there are struggling to find ways to motivate yourself to read the Bible, I’m here to help! Keep scrolling to see some ideas and tips I have to hopefully inspire you 😊
1.) Find a pretty Bible
Honestly, I think how a Bible looks on the outside and its aesthetic has a huge impact when it comes to finding the motivation to read it! I love how every version has so many unique and amazing covers, and it truly shows the gift and talent that God blessed that artist with! Now remember, the pretty design of the cover is not the only reason to become invested in studying the Bible. It’s all about memorizing the verses, stories and truth that it holds, and drawing closer to His presence in that way! But of course, there absolutely ain’t nothing wrong with carrying around a cute and artful Bible everywhere you go! My favorite Bibles with cool artwork are the ones by Hosanna Revival. Y’all, all the products and designs that they sell are STUNNING! My sister and my brother-in-law gave me one for Christmas a little over two years ago and I absolutely love it! I use it as my “pretty Bible” to read in and for pictures while my other Bible I use to take notes and highlight verses in because I’m too afraid to write in the Hosanna Revival one 😂
2.) Color code the table of contents
If you were curious about the picture at the very top of the post, this is exactly what it is! I found this idea on Pinterest and I thought it was so cool! Basically what it is is organizing the Table of Contents (which I like to call the Contents of TRUTH 🙌🏻) by splitting up the Old Testament and New Testament, and then diving every book in the Bible by theme: law, history, poetry, prophets, gospels, letters, and prophecy. Reading the Bible, whether it’s the first time or after many times, can be a bit overwhelming with the amount of Scripture there is to read (in a good way!). I think color coding helps have a better understanding of what each story and chapter focuses on, and I think the organization of it motivates me a lot more!
SIDE NOTE: The stickers in the picture above were designed by my amazing friend Abby Werry, whom I met through Delight Ministries. She has such a beautiful collection of artwork on her Etsy shop! Be sure to check it out, as well as her blog and Instagram account: @sunshineandrayne_
3.) Download the Bible app on your phone
If you don’t have a hardcopy Bible at home and don’t want to spend money on a new one, I highly recommend downloading the Bible app on your phone! It’s free (just like choosing to accept Jesus 😉), comes in a variety of different languages and versions, and contains devotionals for practically any topic you can imagine. Plus, you can highlight various verses and even create graphics and social media posts with them! It’s definitely one of my favorite apps on my phone and I use it very often. Take Jesus wherever you go!
4.) Read a daily devotional with it
I started getting into devotional books about three or four years ago, as a way to get more motivated to read the Bible myself. To this day, I still use devotionals on a daily basis to start the day off. I no doubt get so excited when I purchase a new devotional and get read what God has to say through the authors! I especially love how every devotion contains at least one verse from the Bible that relates to the topic he/she is writing about. If you’re trying to get into reading your Bible every day, I definitely encourage you to read devotionals to go along with it! Here are some of my favorite ones that I highly recommend:
5.) Blast some worship music in the background
I THRIVE when I get some good worship tunes going, wherever I am! In my bedroom, driving in my car, in a coffee shop, going for a run (I love me some Jesus to keep me going during my workouts!), and so much more. Whether on a good day or bad day, Christian music always finds a way to fill me with joy and help me worship in the seasons of waiting, as well as gets me pumped about reading my Bible! Here’s my worship playlist on Spotify for some inspo 💓
6.) Start a Bible study with some friends
Having some quiet time to yourself to be with Jesus is truly impactful, but reading His Word together with some of your closest Christian friends can also be super encouraging and fun! If leading or taking part in a Bible study is something that interests you and feel called to, definitely take advantage of it. It’s a great way to keep each other accountable with reading the Bible and it makes your Christ-based friendships even stronger!
7.) Make a cup of coffee and drink it while you read
If you’re a coffee lover like me, a fresh cup of Joe in a warm mug is probably the first you look forward to in the morning. I certainly do! Sometimes I even like to let it sit after it brews from the Keurig and just let the smell run through the house lol. So why not add your love for coffee to your quiet time with Jesus? In fact, I actually like to view drinking coffee while reading Scripture as a coffee date with Him. If you think about it, the word “coffee” quite literally stands for “Christ Offers Freedom For Everyone Everywhere“! Honestly, there’s no one I would love to go to Starbucks or any coffee shop more than with the One who died for my sins. It’s the best coffee date yet, and there’s bound to be some darn good convos! There truly is nothing like sipping your caffeine, whether hot or iced, while reading the book of Hebrews as He brews up my heart and upcoming day! See what I did there? Hopefully some of you thought that was funny and clever 🤣
8.) Listen to a podcast or sermon
I love a good podcast episode or sermon to listen in the background in the morning, car or getting ready for work, especially when it involves talking about Jesus! Many of them incorporate some Biblical passages and verses that relate to the topic, which I find very helpful when studying the Word! Here’s a few of my favorite faith-based podcasts at the moment:
When it comes to sermons, I’ve been watching a lot of Elevation Church ever since the pandemic started and in-person church services had to close. I watched a really good one given by Steven Furtick, their lead pastor, two weeks ago called “What You Call Small” and it was SO powerful and encouraging! I also love watching sermons on YouTube by Robert Madu, whether on Sunday or during the week when I need to hear some good truth. I absolutely love his energy, and I can promise you that you will never be bored by any his sermons!
9.) Ask God to give you the motivation!
This is actually the best of all ways to find motivation to read your Bible more consistently. God has a strong desire for His people to dive into His Word, more than anything! And if you ask Him to help you find the urge and passion to read a few verses and chapters first thing in the morning (or anytime of the day for that matter), He certainly will provide! And when you find yourself feeling more motivated to read it, you will not doubt find yourself drawing closer to Him, which is what He wants more than anything. I can say from my personal experience that asking Him for the motivation to read the Bible has certainly helped me strengthen my faith and my relationship with Him, and I hope and pray the same thing goes for you!
What’s your favorite verse or story from the Bible? Comment below and share!
Yours Truly,