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Reading my Bible every day has not always been a priority for me. It took me a long time to even begin to understand the Bible on my own and an even longer time to prioritize opening it every day.

If you are like me, there is a certain way you like to dig into your Bible every day and if you aren’t able to do it that way, you don’t do it at all. Or you wait until you have “extra time.”

The problem there is having extra time is a myth. We have to work to make the time.

I prefer to study my Bible slowly with good coffee, a comfy blanket, a good commentary, and a journal. If I am uninterrupted, I can spend a good 45 minutes studying, taking in 1-2 verses at a time. However, my schedule doesn’t always allow for this slow, deep kind of study. Many times, if I’m not able to do it this way then I give up trying entirely. Anything less feels not worth it.

Oh, my friend. This is a lie from the enemy. ANY time reading or listening to the Bible in any form is time well spent.

I learned a while ago that this habit of mine is not the best practice and it robs me of the goodness of God’s Word. You don’t always have to physically open your Bible to get scripture into your life.

There are a lot of other ways to get into the Bible every day. The first thing you have to do is get okay with your quiet time looking a little different during busy seasons or on busy days. You might be starting college or a new job or have a new baby to care for. You might be in a season of working full time AND taking on new responsibilities at church or at home.

Anytime you are in a busy season, it can be hard to carve out time to get into God’s Word the way you want to. It can also be hard to give yourself some grace. But busyness is no excuse and I learned that lesson the hard way many years ago.

There are so many wonderful tools out there to saturate our lives with scripture. It is our choice whether or not we are going to use them.

So, here are 10 ways you can get into the Bible every day, even if you are busy as a bee.

1. Listen to Your Audio Bible

The You Version Bible App has an audio function, as do many other Bible apps out there. This option is great for driving to work or going on a walk with headphones in or rocking a baby to sleep. You can listen to any passage or chapter and even listen to their topical or book-specific reading plans. There is a section for audio devotionals titled “Read to Me” plans.

This option also helps for travel instead of trying to read in the car or on a plane.

2. Watch or Listen to A Video Bible Study

These are not as plentiful as printed Bible studies, but this is still another great option for getting into your Bible while traveling or doing chores. A good example of this would be the free Proverbs 31 Video Study Series by Women Living Well.

There are lots of wonderful video versions of books and studies you can purchase at places like Amazon or ChristianBook.

I haven’t personally listened to a lot of podcasts, so I don’t have a lot of recommendations there. But there are many options out there for encouraging podcasts as another audio message option.

3. Watch or Listen to Your Church Sermon Archives

Many churches will record and archive messages from their services. Choose a sermon you enjoyed and re-listen to it or find sermons you missed from vacations or illness. Listen to or watch them while you drive, clean, cook or fold laundry. This is especially great if your church has read through a book of the Bible together.

When we leave a church service, many of us forget the sermons within a few days. How great to be able to listen to a great, biblical message again!

If you do not have a home church just yet or your church does not record sermons, you are welcome to watch sermons and messages from my home church! There is also another larger church in my area that has wonderful, expository (verse-by-verse) messages.

You can find those here.

4. Memorize Scripture

The easiest way to take the Bible with you always is to hide truth in your heart. The best way to choose verses to study is to pick out meaningful verses during times of deeper study, but if don’t know where to start, there are wonderful pre-picked memory verses out there. For example, the Memory Verse Cards from the Daily Grace Co. are a great place to start. There are cards specific to a book of the Bible or a topic, such as memory verses for anxiety or verse cards over identity.

When you have Scripture memorized, you can meditate on verses you already know and those verses are more likely to come to your heart and mind when you need them.

My favorite way to keep my memory verses all in one place is using a set of spiral-bound index cards. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

5. Use a Devotional

RELATED: 101 Free Bible Studies For Women

If you have read any of my posts before, you know I am a big supporter of doing deep Bible study and not just relying on devotionals. However, in busy seasons a short devotional may be all you have time for. That is okay for a season.

When choosing one, look for a devotional that is heavy on Scripture. 

To get you started, I’ve written a 7-Day Devotional over Psalm 15. The focus on Christ-like character and it will both encourage and challenge you! 

6. Use the First 5 or She Reads Truth App

These apps are made for women by women.

Each app has multiple reading plans that come equipped with Scripture reading, commentary, prayer, and commenting/community functionality. The First 5 App is my personal favorite of the two because of the reminder function. You can set an alarm for the morning within the app so the first thing that pops up when you wake up is the devotional for the day.

This helps me make the Bible the very first thing I see each morning. It also helps to ward off the temptation to click on social media right when I wake up.

Learn more about the First 5 App and the She Reads Truth App.

7. Use the GoTandem App

GoTandem is an app that sends encouraging messages to you at a variety of times throughout the day.

The messages are based on your life and tailored to your spiritual needs. It works by you taking a quiz that helps the app to customize the message to your needs. With this app, you get multiple Scriptures and messages throughout the day.

This multi-message model helps keep your heart and mind centered on Truth all day long.

8. Sign Up For Devotional Emails

I receive daily devotional emails from Proverbs 31 Ministries. I like getting emails sent to my inbox because one of the first things I do when I get to work each morning is to check my email.

In the midst of all the other messages in my inbox, I get some truth and encouragement during an activity that often induces stress from others seeking my advice to solve their problems.

Reading an encouraging email in the middle of all the others is a little break and a breath of fresh air for my soul.

9. Follow Encouraging Accounts on Social Media

There are numerous ministries, speakers, Christian authors, pastors, etc. that use their social media to encourage, equip and remind us daily of God’s Word.

Many will post Biblical teachings, devotions, or articles that point us to our Bibles. Social media is probably one of the things keeping you from reading the bible every day, so why not make it work for you instead?

If you aren’t sure how to do that, I’ve got you covered in my in-depth post on How to Use Social Media for Spiritual Growth!

10. Learn To Say No

This last one isn’t necessarily a tool, but it is a skill.

One of the best things you can do to find more time to spend on your relationship with God is to learn to say no. I recently read Present Over Perfect by Shauna Neiquist and it spoke so deeply to my busy, overwhelmed, recovering Type-A heart.

I used to clutch my busyness like a security blanket. No one could blame me for not growing or not investing in people because I was always running around “accomplishing” things. Now, I am proud of my accomplishments (I graduated with a Master’s Degree last year) but I am not proud of how busy, rushed, and overworked I let myself become.

I struggled to prioritize my relationship with God and everything that entails. I still grew a little, but I wasn’t flourishing. The expectations of other people were stifling my growth and I was letting them.

My problem is that I didn’t know how to say no.

If you are constantly, consistently unable to find any time to get into the Word and spend time in prayer or spend time with your friends and family, something has to give. It’s better to be present, making memories, and growing in a relationship than it is to chase whatever material gain you’re after. Trust me.

Is this an area where you struggle? In what ways do you work to get into your Bible every day during busy seasons? Tell me in the comments!

Your sister in Christ,