In my early years as a Christian, I committed to reading the entire Bible in a year. I desperately wanted a consistent Bible study habit but didn’t know where to start.
I knew nothing about the Bible and I wanted that to change. I was newer to my faith and I was hungry for the Word of God.
I heard over and over again that I needed to be reading my Bible every day and I started to feel left out in Christian circles because I didn’t know the Bible by heart.
Many of the people around me grew up in church learning songs and stories of the Bible and I felt incredibly isolated in my lack of basic knowledge.
I remember being so excited and zealous about this big goal of mine. I had never gone through the Bible on my own and there were many books I had never cracked open. I wanted to leave no verse untouched.
I wanted to know it all.
I started off very strong. But as the months went by, I missed days here and there and began to feel like a failure. I got so far behind that I would speed-read through chapters at a time to try and catch up.
I was reading for progress, not for depth.
My Bible was open, but its meaning was slipping right through my fingers like sand. I wasn’t retaining anything I had read.
I quickly got overwhelmed, gave up, and then restarted multiple times. I can’t tell you how many times I have read Genesis.
I was a few chapters into the book of Isaiah when something dawned on me that completely changed the way I studied the Bible. This plan wasn’t working for me and it was okay to make a new plan that would work for my season.
Many Christian women, especially those new to the faith, do this with Bible reading. Just like me, they jump into the deep end before they learn to swim and then find themselves in over their heads.
If this is an area where you struggle, know you are not alone. You are not a failure and God does not love you any less.
Learning to consistently read and study your Bible is a skill. It takes time to get good at something new and Bible study is no different.
Here are the 7 key steps to creating a habit of consistent Bible study.
1. Define Your Why for Bible Study
Before you commit to anything new or unfamiliar, it is vital that you understand why you want to do it.
Your “why” is what keeps you going when things get hard. It will be what keeps you consistent when you’re not feeling excited or motivated to open your Bible.
So, ask yourself why you want to create a habit of consistently studying your Bible.
Is it:
- Because someone else told you it was important?
- Because you see other Christian women doing it?
- Because your pastor preached a message about it?
- Because some Christian influencer told you to?
These are not bad reasons, but your personal why has to be deeper than that. To make real progress on our goals, they have to mean something to us.
We have to understand how this new habit will change our lives.
Until you take hold of what the Bible is and why it is important to your personal relationship with Jesus, it’ll just be another item on your to-do list.
John 1:1 tells us that
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God”
God’s Word is a precious gift. It is full of truth and promise and is a lifeline for our faith.
It is our light in the darkness because it carries the hope of Jesus in its pages. Scripture is where we learn who God is and what a life lived for Him looks like.
If you’re thinking, but HOW do I study the Bible? I’ve got a resource for that too! You can read my in-depth guide on how to study the Bible here.
2. Let Go of The “Shoulds”
As Christian women, we are constantly being told and shown what our faith should look like. Often this comes from other believers, but it can also come from what we see on social media.
We see the highlight reels of others and think that our lives should look the same.
Here are some examples:
- You should read the whole Bible in a year.
- You should read your Bible every day.
- You should read your Bible first thing in the morning.
- Your Bible reading routine should stay the same throughout all seasons of your life.
If any of these shoulds are your motivation for how you study the Bible, you are setting yourself up to fail.
When we operate out of these “shoulds” we leave our hearts and minds wide open for the enemy to feed us lies about our worth being tied to performance.
A desire to study the Bible and for Scripture grows exponentially from within itself.
The more you dive in and learn, the more you will want to keep learning. Big goals are made up of small, incremental steps forward and there is no time like the present to get started.
3. Evaluate Your Time for Consistent Bible Study
The next thing you need to do is take inventory of your time and schedule commitments.
Trying to squeeze something else onto an already full plate is a surefire way to set yourself up to feel overwhelmed.
The easiest way to get started with creating a consistent habit is to find at least 1 chunk of time in your weekly schedule for deep, thorough Bible study. Over time, as your thirst for Scripture grows, you can find more chunks of time throughout your week.
I call this “feasting.” If you regularly “feast” you can nibble on other days and still achieve deep growth.
This is how I started once I let go of my Bible-in-a-year reading plan. I was working full-time. My husband and I were in graduate school simultaneously, volunteering at Church every week, running small groups in our home, and attempting to maintain our household and marriage.
My schedule was packed.
But, I found one chunk of time on Saturday mornings that usually was uninterrupted. My husband slept in and I had a few hours to myself (this was before we had kids, obviously.)
So that’s where I started.
I claimed that time as my weekly coffee date with Jesus and fiercely protected it by not scheduling anything during that time. I was also extra mindful of my bedtime the night before.
Over time, I made it through chapters upon chapters of Scripture. As I dug in, Jesus met me there, and my desire to read my Bible grew.
Slowly, I added more weekly time chunks because I wanted to.
Studying my Bible regularly became a priority. But it all started with those Saturday mornings.
I created a planning guide that walks you through this process step-by-step!
4. Make a Weekly Commitment
Now that you’ve taken a look at your schedule, make a realistic weekly commitment, and stick to it.
Is there at least 1 chunk of time each week that you can claim? Is there something on your calendar you need to remove to make room for this? Do you need to replace some screen time?
Figure out your weekly commitment and write it down. Put it in a visible place, tell a friend or your spouse about it, and commit that time to the Lord.
For me, I committed to spending 2-3 hours on Saturday mornings studying my Bible. Maybe for you, that commitment is 3 days a week for 30 minutes or 2 nights a week for 45 minutes.
RELATED: How to Create a Solid Bible Study Routine
5. Choose a Plan that Fits Your Goals
For our goals to succeed, we need to make a plan. You must find one that works for you and your current season.
For example, if you plan to study the Bible 2 nights a week while your spouse handles the kids and dinnertime, a Bible in a year reading plan is going to be too much.
But, if you’re in a season where you can get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning and study every single day, that plan is perfect for you.
For me, I took the approach of choosing a book of the Bible and getting as many chapters in as I could during that weekly chunk of time I had. If I was following a study, I just did multiple days at once.
Find something that works for you and adapt it as necessary.
Our lives all look different and it is okay to make a plan that works with the flow of your life rather than against it.
6. Get Accountability
Accountability can look a lot of different ways because not everyone needs the same type.
Maybe for you, this looks like asking a close friend to keep you accountable for your commitment. Maybe this means you join a Bible study at your church, so you have a group of people who can support you, and who will know if you miss a week.
Maybe you join an online community to study the Bible with.
No matter what you do, try and find at least 1 person who can support you, challenge you, and pray with you as you work toward your goals.
7. Celebrate Your Progress
Big changes start with small steps forward. Choosing to learn a new skill takes time and any progress you make should be celebrated.
Cultivating a faithful habit of studying your Bible is a big life change. As believers, we have a responsibility to seek God through His Word and prayer. However, what we do to make that happen is individual.
We serve a relational God who has an individual relationship with each one of us (how incredible??)
As we dig into His Word regularly He will use it to teach us, grow us, convict us, and build us up. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) He will edify us, equip us, and comfort us in our time of need.
His Word is a balm to our soul and it is worth making the time for.
I pray this helps you on your journey to growing in deeper faith in Jesus.
Your Sister in Christ,
