Some Tips to Take Your Bible Reading to The Next Level

So you’re reading your Bible more and want to keep the momentum going. That’s great! I say this often, but Bible reading is the single most influential spiritual practice you can engage in. But even though that’s true, there’s always more to learn. The Bible is complex and we live in a cultural moment that doesn’t encourage us to spend much time on difficult or thought-provoking reading. So here are a couple of tips, tricks, and techniques to help you grow in your Bible reading. 

1 - Pray Before You Read 

This one may seem overly simple, but for those of us who struggle with our prayer life, it’s an important reminder. No matter what kind of reading you’re planning on doing or for how long, talk to God before you do it. This can literally be a 5-second prayer: “God, I’m about to read some. Will you please guide me through your word?”

Remember that even though the bible was written by human authors in human language, it was The Holy Spirit of God that worked through the human authors to create the unified narrative of the Bible. One of the primary ministries of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is to guide us through the scriptures and illuminate their meaning to us. 

You will be blown away by the difference in your Bible reading when you actively invite the Holy Spirit to participate in your reading with you. Whether it is devotional reading, study, or even just reading for pleasure, you have access to the author. Ask him to participate in your reading with you every time. 

2 - Read Whole Books in One Sitting 

If you’ve never done this before, this likely sounds really intimidating, but if you have done it before, you know exactly why I’m recommending it. Most Christians who have a discipline of Bible reading do their reading in plans and short chunks. You may read 1, 2, or 4 chapters per sitting. And there is nothing wrong with this. The word of God is powerful and taking it in is always beneficial. 

However, there is something uniquely powerful about taking in whole books in one sitting. It gives you a unique and full picture of the flow, themes, and message of a particular book. We modern readers have a tendency to zoom in and analyze the individual granules of particular passages and words. Reading a whole book helps you to step back and see the larger picture and natural cohesion of the bible. 

And this is not as scary as it sounds.

I’m not a fast reader and it takes me about 25-35 minutes to read through a small epistle in the New Testament. And this is reading with comprehension in mind. I highly suggest Galatians or Philippians as a first book to attempt this practice. They are short and seeing the whole of each book opens up the meaning in wonderful and easy-to-miss ways. 

This doesn’t need to be the only way you read your Bible or even the regular way you do, but if you’ve never done it, consider adding it to your larger plan for Bible reading. Maybe do this once or twice a year as part of your larger bible reading strategy. 

In my time in Seminary, because of class schedules, I had to read the whole bible in about 9 months when I took several OT and NT classes back to back. In order to keep pace with the Bible reading, I took whole days off work and just sat and read the Bible. I got the privilege of reading Job, Jeremiah, and all four gospels in one sitting each. This took me hours each time and it was hard, but it also opened these books to my heart in unique ways that I still hold on to. 

3 - Read in the OT and NT

Regardless of your bible reading plan, make sure that you are regularly spending time in both the Old and New Testaments. I would suggest always having at least one book from each testament that you’re working through. The reason for this is simple. The Bible interprets and references itself continually. Often the hardest-to-understand passages are beautifully illuminated by other passages. Keeping your mind and heart in both testaments will help you learn to connect the dots between ideas and themes in the bible as a whole. 

A great example of this is to partner your reading of Leviticus or Deuteronomy with reading Hebrews. So much of the book of Hebrews is directly referencing what is taught in the books of the law that they deeply illuminate one another. 

You can actually take this practice even a step further by alternating what genres of scripture you read at any given time. Keeping track of what genre each book is as you read can help you make sure you have a diverse diet of scripture as you read. 

4 - Do your Own Cross References 

Most Bibles have cross-references printed in the margins somewhere, but I strongly encourage you to get into the habit of making your own. The more you read your Bible the more you’ll automatically connect the dots between common themes, images, and ideas.

The work here is simple, but it opens new worlds in your Bible reading if you give yourself over to it. 

Every time you’re reading your Bible and a certain verse you read reminds you of another one, stop and find it. Use Google or a Bible index and find whatever passage you made the connection with. Read it and compare it to the text you were initially reading. If you see a connection between them, write down the reference for each passage on the margin of the other. Even consider adding a note in the margin describing the connection. The more you do this, you’ll find yourself coming upon your own cross-references in the margins reminding you of other texts you’ve read and helping cement in your heart the larger themes of scripture. 

You can even buy journaling Bibles with extra space in the margins for exactly these kinds of notes. 

5 - Use Helps and Resources  

Don’t be afraid to use whatever resources will help you in your Bible reading journey. 

If you generally struggle with reading, consider engaging in an audio Bible or a more thought-for-thought Bible translation. 

Study resources are extremely helpful as well. Consider looking up a summary of a book of the bible either before you start reading or after you finish it. The Bible Project YouTube channel has great short summaries of each book of the Bible. You should also consider investing in a nice study Bible that will have contextual notes at the beginning of each book and in the footnotes for each page.

I highly recommend the ESV study notes and the life application study notes. 

Bible reading is complex and is a discipline to learn. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge this and use the helps you need to get you deeper into this rewarding spiritual practice. 

Which is really what I’m talking about with all of these. Reading the Bible can be hard, but it is also simply worth it. Whatever your Bible reading currently looks like, take steps to grow in this life-giving practice.