Christians know how important it is to grow in God's Word and refer to the Bible as the authority on faith. However, some believers are unable to commit wholeheartedly to their daily Bible readings.
Dr. Bruce Ware, a Christian theology professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, offers help to facilitate Bible reading. "How wise is the person who is committed to a diligent input of Scripture, and how great are the derived benefits," he writes in an article for Desiring God.
Ware then shares five tips for effective Bible reading:
1. Commit yourself to consistent Bible reading.
"Consistency, rather than haphazardness, should mark our reading of God's work," he says. "Of course, we all know that emergencies arise and life's messes interrupt. But it is one thing to have a few pauses in an otherwise consistent Bible reading plan, and another simply to read only when it is convenient to do so."
Ware says that God's Word will have its "greatest potential impact" only when Christians read it regularly.
2. Engage in both fast-paced and slow-paced reading.
For Ware, there are two forms of reading that would benefit believers. "Fast-paced reading is necessary if we are to cover the whole of the Scriptures at some kind of regular interval," he explains. "It doesn't have to be a 'read the Bible in a year' programme, necessarily, but I would hope each of us would commit to reading every single book and chapter of the Bible at least every two or three years."
On the other hand, slow-paced reading will encourage people to "soak in and glory in the beauty" of the passages. Certain Scriptures can only be seen, felt, or marvelled when people read it purposefully and prayerfully, adds Ware.
3. Notice the "who" as much, or more than, the "what" as you read.
Ware wants Christians to pay attention to Bible verses that reveal truths about the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
"While it is important to learn what the Bible teaches each step along the way, even more important is coming to a clearer and brighter and richer and deeper understanding of who the true and living God is who stands behind and in all of Scripture," he says.
The more people grow in knowledge about God, the more His attributes, actions, plans, and purposes become clearer.
4. Seek informed minds and stirred affections.
"God intends the truth of His Word to travel first into our minds, but then from our minds to our hearts. God intends for us to know the truth of his Word," explains Ware. "But he also wants us to see its beauty, and marvel at the richness of the Word. In short, we must grow, through our reading of Scripture, in knowing (mind) and loving (heart) the glorious truths we encounter along the way."
According to the professor, it is quite dangerous if Christians read God's Word consistently without being stirred by His Word. When this happens, people should pray to God and ask for more understanding.
5. Commit yourself to hear and heed, understand and obey, what you encounter in the Bible.
Lastly, Ware says that God's Word helps people live out their day-to-day lives correctly. "Let's resist the temptation to have minds growing in the knowledge of God's Word that nonetheless fail to live out the truth of what we have come to know," he says.
