How to Read the Bible When You Don't Want To
5 Steps to Get Back in God’s Word
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Some days it can feel so, so hard to pick up the Bible and the longer we leave it, the harder it seems to get.
I used to shame myself HARD when I felt this way and believe all kinds of lies. I thought reading the Bible was supposed to feel smooth and easy and that if it didn’t, I was a bad Christian.
I've come a long way in my Bible reading journey, and I read the Bible more than I ever have, both on the days I want to and the days I don't. (stay tuned for a free 7-day challenge if you want to say the same!) I’m sharing my top five tips and tricks to get back in God's Word when it’s been a while or read the Bible even when you don't want to.
1. Pray a Messy Prayer
Tell God exactly how you feel. It might seem rude to inform God that you don't want to spend time with Him, but I think it's important to do just that and open the line of communication. He already knows your heart. My favourite messy prayer sounds something like this:
God, I really don't want to spend time with you right now, but I want to want to. Please change my heart and help me desire time with you again.
In Priscilla Shirer's book, Fervent (amazon.ca | amazon.com), she outlines 10 areas in life we need to create a prayer strategy to keep the enemy from grabbing a toe-hold. She has an entire chapter about our passion that completely changed my perspective.
Before reading this book, I thought that if I didn't want to do something, there was something wrong with me, and I was being somehow sinful or petty. Reading this book made me aware that passion is something that comes from God and can be outside of our control.
Praying over our passion and our desire to be in His Word is so important to bring us back into alignment with God.
2. Write Down Any Lies You Believe
Before I was a mom, I had hours to spend reading God's word and journaling my prayers. With each new child I have, I need to find new ways to spend time with God again. (If you’re looking for NEW ways to meet with God, you’re going to love my 7-day challenge!)
It can feel so hard to break up with how our bible-reading time used to look and accept that God is going to do something new. For a long time, I believed the lie that my bible-reading time had to look or feel a certain way, and it kept me from coming back to God’s Word.
I’ve spent time believing certain passages don’t “count” or that I’m not allowed to reread the passage I read yesterday. How prideful of me to assume I learned everything possible from a specific passage in one read-through! Now, I embrace multiple read-throughs and I’m amazed what I can learn by spending 4 or 5 days in the same Chapter of Proverbs.
I’ve also believed that if I missed a day or failed to read a passage within a certain amount of time, I was failing. The shame I felt kept me out of God’s word for far too long as I beat myself up over missed days.
3. Choose Something Simple and Familiar
If I've been out of God's Word for a long time I always jump back in with Proverbs or John. I find both these books to be fairly simple to read and easy to apply in my life right away. Sometimes we just need a quick win instead of trying to pick up where we left off or read something complex. I love helping people find quick wins on their way back to God’s Word, and that’s why I created my free 7-day bible-reading challenge!
You might want to consider reading a passage that you had memorized as a child or heard the story of over and over again. Like I said, oftentimes I will choose the passage I read yesterday if I'm not feeling creative or capable of putting too much thought in.
4. Release Expectations For What Happens Next
This doesn't have to be day one on some long bible reading journey, or a new leaf turned over by the new you.
As I said, shame around my current bible-reading routine has kept me out of God’s word far too many times, and so has the fear that I won’t be able to read it again the next day. At times, I’ve felt like there is no point in reading today if I won't be able to read tomorrow and the next day and the next day or come up with some kind of consistent routine.
I want to invite you to release expectations for what happens next and focus on reading the Bible right now if you have time to do so.
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5. Remove Distractions
Some days, everything other than God's word looks appealing. I always say the hardest thing about reading books is putting down my phone, and the same is true for the Bible. All those flashing lights and noises and engaging short-form content are so addicting for our brains, and it can feel so hard to open God's word if you have something more interesting next to you.
My phone has a cool setting where I can lock it in “Zen Mode” for 20 minutes, and I'm not able to open any apps unless I need to make an emergency call. I frequently use that setting or toss my phone in another room so I will actually crack open my bible.
My phone is usually the easiest to grab when I have a moment to sit and consume something. What is it for you? Is there another distraction you can move off to the side?
6. Just Do It
Just start. Open up whatever book you've chosen. Read a few verses, and see how it feels. You can only pep talk yourself so hard before you have to just open your bible.
It might not feel life-changing every time you read, but it's still so, so important to nourish yourself on the Word of God. I don't believe in a message of guilt or shame that makes you feel like a bad Christian if you don't turn to God's Word every day. Instead, I motivate myself with positive reinforcement.
I know you're going to feel so refreshed and renewed and grateful you opened God's word! Bring your thoughts and feelings before God, confess any lies you’re believing and just open your Bible today. You’ll never look back and wish you read the Bible less.
If you are struggling to figure out how to read the Bible, especially if you're a busy mom like me, here are a few other blog posts you’ll love!
