There are a few things that can make a difference. They are:
- Your commitment and determination to read are the most powerful tools you control. Decide from the beginning that you are dedicated to reading through the entire Bible and learning about God.
- Choosing a specific time of day and place to read. When you commit yourself to a time and place, you are more likely to continue reading because you have consciously made it part of your daily schedule. Over the course of reading through the entire Bible, you may need to change the time or place you have chosen several times as your life circumstances change.
- Keeping your Bible in a highly visible place so that you are more likely to make it part of your daily routine.
- Having a specific reading schedule. View our sample reading schedule to get an idea of how this might help.
- Tracking your reading progress on your Reading Schedule. See How Can I Keep Track of My Reading Progress?
- Using the NLT Life Application Bible. See Why does Word Way recommend using the New Living Translation (NLT) Life Application Bible?
- Using an e-reader and its bookmark feature may be helpful to some readers.
- Reading back and forth between the Old and New Testament rather than straight through. See Why does the Reading Schedule move back and forth between the Old Testament and the New Testament each week?
- Reading the Weekly Thoughts. See What are the Weekly Thoughts? and How do I receive the Weekly Thoughts?
- Finding a reading partner or a group to provide encouragement to continue reading and to share insights or questions.
- Praying. Pray that God will help you to find the time to read and to help you complete the reading. Ask God to help you to understand what you read so that reading is beneficial to you and so that you can put His words into action in your life. Ask God to give you joy in reading scripture rather than allowing it to become a chore.
- Setting secondary reading goals for yourself. If you cannot read every day, can you set a time to catch up each week? Each month?
- Keeping a journal. See How do I make this a more personal journey?
- Getting rid of any guilt if you do fall behind in the Reading Schedule. It is more important for you to continue reading than it is to stay on schedule. Just pick up where you last read or start over.