Have you ever heard God’s word referred to as spiritual food? It is often referred to as food because we need it every day to survive. Unfortunately, many Christians treat the Bible like cake, dessert for special occasions. However, it is a non-negotiable for every follower of Christ to read the Bible every day. This is why.
Why We Should Read the Bible Every Day
We need daily guidance
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This means that God’s word guides and illuminates our lives. We need daily guidance because we have an enemy wanting to pull us astray. We aren’t strong enough on our own to withstand his attacks so we need God’s word to help us. Personally, I notice that I am more stressed, anxious, easily distracted, fearful, and prone to sinful thoughts and actions when I go long periods of time without reading my Bible. This is not just a spiritual concept: when we don’t eat food, we often become the same way. Just like we wouldn’t eat a huge meal at the beginning of the week and expect it to sustain us, we can’t neglect our Bibles for long periods of time without going hungry spiritually.
It helps us grow in our faith
There’s a lot in the Bible that we don’t know and though I wish it would, knowledge doesn’t come through osmosis. We can’t sit around expecting to receive revelation from God when we haven’t dug into his word searching. We learn by reading and studying little by little each day. If we want to grow as Christians, we have to read our Bibles daily.
It aligns our hearts with God’s heart
Romans 12:2 reminds us not to be confirmed to the patterns of the world but to instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Then it says, “you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is…” We are transformed by daily fellowship with God. How do we fellowship with God daily? One way is by reading the Bible. When we are transformed and our hearts are more like God’s heart, we’re able to know his will. It is so important to know God’s will so that we don’t walk into things that God never intended for us.
It convicts us of sin
Conviction is not a dirty word. It’s actually one of the most beautiful indicators of God’s love towards us. He shows us where we need to improve so that he can help us change. Sin is like a heavy weight that pulls us down. When God’s word reveals sin in our hearts, it gives us an opportunity to experience more freedom than we had before. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” When we read God’s word daily, we can “store up” what we learn so that when sin is presented to us, we can resist it.
We can learn something new about God every day
Every day is a new opportunity to learn something about our creator and savior. If you aren’t reading the Bible everyday, you’re missing opportunities to learn about the most important person in the universe. It’s a beautiful privilege to have God’s inspired words before us, we shouldn’t waste it.
It helps us to be a good witness to others
Believe it or not, our friends and family need us to bring them to Christ. We are the only Jesus some people will ever be able to encounter. Since that’s the case, we want to show them Jesus well. It’s really challenging to show Jesus when we don’t know Jesus. We know him by spending time reading the Bible daily.
What if I can’t read the Bible every day?
I understand that life can be busy and hectic and you may feel like you don’t have time to read the Bible every day. Here’s the thing: we get to choose our priorities and even though life gets really busy, we can definitely make time to read the Bible for a few minutes each day. When we don’t have time for something, it simply means something else is our priority. You get to decide whether the Bible is your priority or something else is.
If you’re really struggling to find time to read the Bible each day, this article “A Busy Girl’s Guide to Spending Time With God Throughout the Day” might be helpful.
Is it okay to listen to sermons instead of reading the Bible every day?
I don’t think it’s a good idea to listen to sermons in place of regular Bible reading. Sermons are great but they are human interpretation of God’s truth. Think about it, would you prefer to communicate with your loved one through a messenger or would you prefer to hear from them directly? If you don’t have time to sit and read the Bible, you can always try using an audio Bible app to listen to the Bible instead. Just be sure to listen intently so that you actually consume what the passage is saying.
If you have any questions on studying the Bible, check out my beginner’s guide to Bible study.
To wrap up, the Bible is our daily bread. It’s food that God has provided for us to eat daily. If we don’t eat, we will become weak. Let’s make an effort to consume God’s word every day even when it feels boring or inconvenient.
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