How to read the Bible daily

In my last post I spoke of the importance of daily Bible reading. In this one I'm going to share how to do this. The only way to read the Bible daily is to have a set time to do so each day. If you don't have a planned time them more likely than not it will fall to the way side. So first things first. Pick a time to spend time alone with God. Tell your family or at least your mother so that she can either help keep your accountable or so that she knows when to let you have alone time and not disturb you.

Secondly you have to get into worship mood. For me this means covering my hair and just having a few minutes of silence while I focus on God. I then pray for God to open my eyes to His Word and I then start to read. The hardest part of this is tuning out distractions. If the weather is nice maybe go outside or if you’re indoors shut your bedroom door and just ignore everything else.

Thirdly, want something, have a goal. We only get out what we put into something. If we approach the Heavenly Father with a casual "lets get this over with so I can mark off today" attitude then that’s all we will get out of it. A day to mark off the calendar. If you approach the Word with a "lets see what He can show me today" attitude then the Lord will show us and or teach us something.

Fourthly, Deal with any sin that’s in your heart. Some one once said “Sin will keep you from this Book and this Book will keep you from sin". When there is a heart issue then we will have a hard time reading the Good Book. If there is someone that you need to forgive then forgive before you try to have your prayer time. When we go to God with sin in our hearts it’s like talking to him though a wall we know he's there but we don't feel Him quite the same. The experience has been dulled by our sin. It’s like trying to eat a piece of cake with a burnt tongue. There is still a little enjoyment but near as much! I know that spending time with God is nothing like eating cake but the allegory is still the same.

Five, Have a note book and pen ready. If you read a verse that really stands out write it down so you can read it again when you need some encouragement. Maybe have a little section in a notepad for different kind of verses; encouragement, prayer help, fear, and praise etc.

Six, keep a concordance handy. These are wonderful tools! I had never really used one until I started my study on head coverings and it proved to be extremely useful! Many have Greek and Hebrew dictionaries in them as well which is nice when you don't know the meaning of a word or you just want more clarification.

Seven, Keep an open mind. Be willing to do what ever God shows you. Don't allow your self to become harden to the Word. When ever you receive correction, apply it to your life and or corrects the wrong that you've been shown. If we harden our hearts them the Lord will stop showing us stuff and we will become bitter and useless to the Lord.

Any tips or helpful thoughts? Please share! We can all benefit from learning from each other! So don't hide your candle under a bush!