my favorite ways to read the Bible.

I grew up in Sunday School singing songs like, "Read your Bible, pray every day, and you'll grow, grow, grow" – but I was 25 years old when I actually started putting this into practice. It’s strange to say because I grew up in church and was so familiar with Bible stories, but I had never actually read a single one of them with my own eyes. They were read to me, taught to me, shown to me on a flannel board or in VeggieTales. When I got older, they were delivered to me with context and interpretation in sermons and on podcasts. I never really stopped to question whether that was good enough. It felt like it was. Until I was 25, and I started attending a church where people spoke with so much confidence about who God is and had a knack for weaving scripture references into their everyday language. Their casual conversations carried the weight of Biblical truth without them actually outright quoting scripture.

It turns out, the verses I'd memorized when I was little in exchange for a piece of candy in class weren't really serving me that well in the long run. I may have known the words, but I didn't know the Word – the Person. Having a vague understanding that David defeated Goliath and Jesus performed miracles isn't the same thing as knowing who He is, understanding the power that lives in me, and walking in the authority He has given me. Or so I would learn.

Once I started reading the Bible for myself – not to check it off a to-do list but to actually find out what God had to say – everything started to change. I didn’t really notice it at the time, but I started noticing how the words I read could apply to real-life situations. And I started taking everything to God, because I could, and asking Him, What do You say about that? And then, I heard myself referencing scripture in casual conversation – and, y’all, I didn’t even know I knew it that well. It just came out.

I hadn’t memorized them, but I knew the words because I know the Word.

I don’t claim to know everything, and I’m not even here to talk about that. I just can’t get enough. Maybe you can’t either. Or maybe you don’t even know what you’re missing. Either way, I wanted to gush a little bit about the Word and my favorite ways to read it. I can’t help myself. Here they are.

my favorite ways to read the bible.

With Holy Spirit.
Asking Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word is the number one way you're going to read the Bible and understand it. There are so many times I literally say, out loud, “What does that even mean?” I’ve learned over and over again that He’s not playing games. He wants me to know Him, but He also doesn’t force it. Ask and you shall receive.

Out loud.
This is far and above my favorite way to read the Bible. There is something about saying the words out loud and hearing them in your own voice that changes everything. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but scripture does say that faith comes by hearing.

In 30 days.
Okay, after reading the Bible out loud, this is my favorite piece of advice. Find the 30-Day Shred plan in the YouVersion Bible app and go ahead and read the entire thing in 30 days. Yes, it's possible. Yes, it will change your life. (Pro-tip: listen to the audio version.)

When I need help.
Sometimes I don't just sit down to read the Bible. Sometimes I want to know what to do or what God says about something. I'll often ask, Who experienced this in scripture? What did they do? Where was God? My top searches include: Who waited well? (David.) What if God doesn't do the thing I really want Him to? (Daniel 3.)

In different translations.
My physical Bible is CSB, but I also use the Bible app to jump around between CSB, NLT, NKJV, AMP, MSG, and TPT. Hearing the same thing in different ways is so helpful, but sometimes I also Google the original Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic words so I can see for myself what it’s talking about. Sometimes, even though I’m reading the actual Bible, it still feels like I’m taking someone else’s word for it. Changing it up helps me hear God for myself.

With my journal.
I like to write out passages that capture my attention and then write about what I notice, what I think it's saying, what I think it says about God, what I think it means for me, or any questions I have. Often, as I'm free writing in response to scripture, God reveals things to me through my own words on the page. As a writer, I often find myself gasping at my own words because they're not actually mine. That might be my actual favorite.

Okay. Your turn. What are your favorite ways to read the Bible?