One of the toughest areas of my spiritual life has traditionally been consistency in my Bible reading. It seems like it’s easy to slip away from this habit over all the other spiritual disciplines. And we can’t let that happen.

Finding consistency is our spiritual habits is critical. But it’s not something we think about too often, if at all. We just kind of take it for granted, unless it’s missing, and then we notice, and we wish we could do better. But we don’t know how.

The Importance Of Consistency

The Bible is our primary source for knowing God and his will for our lives. He has written his love letter to us, in the form of the sixty-six books of the Bible. And, if we want to get to know who he is, and what he desires for our lives, that is where we will find it.

You learn a lot about God from spending time with him. And you get to know him better personally as well. He has opened himself to us through his word, and we can see his heart, his character, his love and much more.

And, the better you know the message of God, the better you understand his mission: to seek and save humanity. And you can see your role in that.

Unless we are reading the Word of God on a consistent basis, we won’t have a handle on these things. Reading daily will help you and I understand God better, know his Son more fully, and see his will more clearly.

How God’s Word Keeps Opening Up

The more you read, the more you learn. That is true. But many times, once I read a book, I never return to it again. Not so with God’s Word. Rereading the Bible is like peeling layers off of an onion. There is always more and more to reveal.

For example, I have tweaked Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System to fit my own needs. Using this system, some books of the Bible are read only once a year. Others sections are read two, three, four, or even more times a year. One such book is the book of Job. Based on this plan, I read Job at least five times each year. And the more I read it, the more I find in it that speaks to me about who God is, who I am, and how he continues to work in my life. I find something new every time I read it.

God’s Word never stops revealing God’s nature to me as I read. Never.

Find A Plan That Works For You

This has been the biggest challenge for me. Very often, I would start a new plan to read the Bible consistently, but would fizzle out a few weeks or months later. I even designed one myself that would enable me to read through the Bible completely in the course of a year. It connects events that go together in Scripture, such as David’s sin with Bathsheba and Psalm 51, his repentance.

Nothing really seemed to work for me. I still had a larger failure rate than I desired.

Until I found the one I’m using now, Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System. When I first found it, it intrigued me, and after some tweaking to fit my personality and needs, it has been a perfect fit for me. I have been using this system for four complete years now, and have entered into the fifth, and I am still going strong.

One of the best ways to stay consistent is to find the plan that fits your needs and works best for you. It’s a lot easier to stick to it when it fits you like a glove.

Finally, Stick To It

The final piece of the puzzle is to stick to it. Set up a time and a place to read each day. Set a reminder on your phone if you need to. Just keep going. If you miss a day, that’s no big deal. Just pick it back up the next day and get going again.

Just don’t give up. It’s that important.

Question: What do you do to stay consistent in your Bible reading? You can leave a comment by clicking here.