My daily Bible study is a sacred time for me each morning but, it wasn’t always this way. I used to struggle with reading my Bible, I thought it was boring, I couldn’t focus, and I just didn’t have time. As someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD I know all about distractions and not being able to focus, but it wasn’t my ADHD hindering my relationship with God, it was my excuses.
Every day I had a new excuse as to why I couldn’t read my Bible, it could’ve been because I was just too busy, or wasn’t in the mood to read, whatever the case was it was a sorry excuse for not reading my Bible. I thought I knew all I needed to know about God and His word, I knew how to walk the walk and talk the talk but, God knew I still have a lot to learn.
I was scrolling through Pinterest one day when a quote popped up and that said “Don’t say God is silent when your Bible is closed” and I was instantly convicted and realized that I was neglecting my relationship with God by not reading His word. It was like God spoke to me so loud and clear through a Pinterest post that it shocked me to my core. So I put away my phone, grabbed my bible and started to read.
Now it wasn’t easy for me to start Bible studying at first, it felt like a drag at first but I continued to read everyday and I still do to this day. After all this time of reading my Bible every morning I’ve come up with or stumbled across a lot of tips that would’ve made it easier for me starting out. So this post is about all things Bible study and what I’ve learned along the way. Whether you’ve never read the Bible before, read it here and there, or are a daily reader this post is for you and I hope some of my tips help you in your Bible study!
So first things first, get rid of the excuses and distractions! This was my biggest mistake starting out and I think it’s really important to touch base on. Having ADHD this was extremely hard for me to do so what helped the most was writing out a list of all my excuses and distractions before bible studying and then praying about each and every one of them. It gave me a chance to give things over to God before I started reading and provided an outlet to clear my mind so I could focus on the Bible and not on what I’m going to have for lunch. It was also a way to make myself aware of my excuses and what was distracting me so I could work on removing those distractions and quit making excuses.
Second, pray before and while you read! This was super important in cultivating my relationship with God, talking to Him changes things, trust me! I always ask Him to open my eyes to see what He’s showing me, open my ears to listen to what He’s teaching me, and to help me be receptive and obedient before I read. This helps me get in the right mindset to focus on God and God only while I read. But like I mentioned before, it’s also been really helpful for me to pray while I read. It’s like having a conversation with God, every time I read of His goodness I thank Him, when I read something I don’t quite understand I ask Him in prayer, and He always provides me with the answers to my questions when I read. God speaks to me through His word and that alone has changed how I feel about my Bible study every day.
Third, make reading your Bible a priority! Bible study is habit forming when you make time to do it every day. At this point in my life I can’t start my day off right until I spend some time in the word. It renews my spirit, keeps my mind on things above, and gives me strength to get through the day. If you’re having trouble getting into reading your Bible call a friend and ask them to do it with you, Bible studying with others is such a wonderful way to spend time with God and the people you care about.
Fourth, personalize your Bible and write notes! I am a huge fan of journaling Bibles for this exact reason. I love to write out notes next to what I’m reading. Your notes can be anything you want them to be, they can be song lyrics that remind you of a verse, love letters to God, what you learned, what you’re thankful for, and the list goes on. So grab your favorite pen, your favorite highlighters, and some colorful sticky notes. Make it personalized and colorful. Maybe this is just me but using all the colors of sticky notes and highlighters helps me remember what I’m reading and well it just makes it fun for me. The Bible I use is the ESV single column journaling Bible and I absolutely love it, it gives me just the right amount of space to write my notes and it’s still compact enough for on the go!
Another tip I’ve come across is using the Blue Letter Bible app in my Bible study. The app has hundreds of commentaries by wonderful authors and pastors. I personally like to read Chuck Smith’s and David Guzik’s commentaries when I want to really study a chapter or verse. You can also find great commentaries on enduringword.com as well as the Logos Bible app and the Olive Tree Bible app.
Lastly, consider using a Bible reading tracker, like the one pictured below, to help you keep track of what you’ve read. I am currently in the process of reading the entire Bible so using a tracker has been super beneficial to me. I created some free downloadable and printable Bible reading trackers just for you! You can find the links to download and print them at the end of this post!
I hope that this post gave you some helpful tips on studying your Bible and provided you with some encouragement to pick up your Bible and read! Just know that being obedient in your reading isn’t always easy, you’re not always going to feel like you want to read your Bible. But our relationship with the Lord should be based on faith and not on feelings so keep that in mind the next time worldly things try to cheat you out of your daily time with God.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Download the Bible reading trackers pictured above by pressing the download button after this post! I created these just for you and I hope you love them!
Living with Eternity in Mind 
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