One of the best ways to grow in your faith is through reading the word of God.
The Bible is our primary source of information about sin, God, Jesus, and how we should live as Christians.
However, sometimes doing the same Bible reading routine can get stale.
Today I’m going to share with you 23 ways to revive your Bible reading time.
23 Ways to Freshen Up Your Bible Reading Routine
1. Read the Bible out loud.
One of the easiest ways to read the Bible is to read it out loud. Reading the scriptures out loud causes you to focus more on the passage and helps you to remember what you’ve read.
2. Try a different Bible translation.
Sometimes reading a different Bible translation can give you a fresh perspective or more clarity on the passages that you’ve been reading.
3. Listen to the Bible.
There are many apps that you can use to listen to the Bible. This is a great way to get your Bible reading done while you’re on the go. My favorite Bible app is the YouVersion Bible app. They have the Bible in more than 9,000 languages and in 1,000 translations.
4. Read the Bible in chronological order.
I’m not sure if you knew this, but the Bible is not written in Chronological order. Instead, they are grouped together by genre (history, poetry, prophecy, etc). Chronological Bibles seek to arrange the passages of scripture in the context of history.
5. Read a book of the Bible.
Instead of reading a few verses at a time, read a whole book of the Bible in one sitting. If you’ve never done this before you might want to start with one of the smaller books like Ruth, 2&3 John, or Jude.
6. Read a reader’s Bible.
Reader’s Bibles are unique because they remove the Bible chapters and verse numbers, which is how the Bible was originally written. This allows the Bible to be presented in a storyline manner and allows us to see the connectivity of the Bible as a whole.
7. Read about a specific topic in the Bible
Using your Bible concordance look up specific Bible verses on a certain topic like love, anger, forgiveness, or sin. As you read the verses write down what you learn from each verse.
8. Write out whole books of the Bible.
This may seem like a tedious task, but writing out the Bible slows us done and allows us to really process what we are reading as we write it out.
9. Read a chapter of Proverbs a day.
Proverbs is one of my favorite books of the Bible. There is so much wisdom packed into each verse. Read one chapter a day or pick 1 or 2 verses to meditate on throughout the day.
10. Read the parables of Jesus back to back.
Jesus often taught to the crowds using parables. Parables are tales about a simple, common subject to show a deeper, valuable moral lesson. Read through the parables and see what Biblical truths the Holy Spirit shows you. The parables of Jesus can be found in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
11. Use study tools like a Bible commentary or study Bible.
I love using Bible commentaries and Study Bibles. They add such a rich experience to reading the Bible. The Bible was written over 2000 years ago in a time that is much different from now. Bible commentaries and study Bibles can help you better understand the context that a verse was written or the cultural significance of an event.
12. Read the Psalms of David.
There are 150 Psalms in the book of Psalms. Instead, of reading all of the Psalms you can focus on reading the ones written by King David. What I’ve enjoyed about reading the Psalms of David is that it gives you a better understanding of Davids’s relationship with God and why he was considered a man after God’s heart.
13. Meditate on small verses or chapters in the Bible.
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Joshua 1:8
The Bible encourages us to meditate on the word of God. As Christians, we should be reading and thinking about what we read from the Bible and how we can apply it to our daily lives. When we meditate on small sections or verses of the Bible it helps it become rooted and grounded in our hearts.
14. Read and sing the psalms.
I’m sure you’ve heard of reading the psalms, but have you ever tried to sing them? Many of the psalms are songs of worship that were sung during Jewish feasts and festivals.
15. Memorize verses or chapters of the Bible.
This one goes with meditating on the word of God. When we meditate on the word of God we will naturally begin to memorize the verses. Memorizing scripture was common practice in Jesus’ day. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness I’m sure he was carrying around the Torah with him. Because he had the word of God memorized when the enemy came to tempt him he was able to use the word of God against him.
If you are interested in learning more you can read my post on creative ways to memorize scripture.
16. Draw out or illustrate a passage.
Bible journaling is one of my favorite activities. Instead of just reading the Bible try to illustrate what you read. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
17. Start a Bible reading challenge with Friends.
Everything is better with friends. Instead of reading on your own start a Bible reading challenge with your friends. Pick a book of the Bible to read, then once a week you get together and discuss what you’ve read.
18. Read the books of the “minor” prophets
The books of the minor prophets are found in the old testament and start with Hosea and ending with Malachi. These books are referred to as the minor prophets due to their length, not their importance.
19. Read a book of the Bible that you don’t normally read.
Everyone has their favorite books of the Bible that they prefer to read. Instead of reading over the same sections again chose a book of the Bible that you wouldn’t normally read. Are you a New Testament fan? Read something in the Old Testament and vice versa. Have you ever read the book of Numbers? I can guarantee you it has more than lists of names in it.
20. Pray the scriptures.
There are many prayers written throughout the Bible. Take the time to read through some of them. Better yet take a few passages of the Bible and pray them over yourself, your family, and your friends. In the book of Acts, there is a prayer that the early church prayed for boldness (Acts 4:23-31). When you don’t know what to pray you can’t go wrong with praying the scripture.
21. Read a verse or passage from the Bible on FB live.
If you’re an introvert like I am this option probably sounds horrifying to you. However, it’s not as bad as it sounds. If you read a verse that motivates you it will probably motivate someone else. Get on Facebook and share the good news with your family and friends.
22. Create and share a Bible verse on social media.
Alright, maybe you’re not ready for Facebook live. You can use a free platform like canva.com to create a social media post to share online.
23. Use a Bible reading plan.
Finally, try using a reading plan. You can find reading plans in the back of your Bible, on various Bible apps, or you can download a few of the reading plans I’ve listed on this website. The options are endless.
Bonus Idea! Read Biographically!
Instead of reading a specific chapter or book, read about a specific person in the Bible. Both testaments are full of important and interesting people like Abraham who is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.
We’ve made it to the end of the list. I hope you found a few new ideas to help freshen up your quiet time and the inspiration to try something new.
As always, keep Jesus in the center of everything you do.
Your Sister In Christ,
Eboni