Five Tips to Keep Your New Year Resolution of Daily Bible Reading

Amy has been on staff at SU since graduating from the University of Toronto. Over the years she has been teaching and developing resources to help connect people of all ages with God's Word. Amy is a pastor's wife, mom to two young children, a children's ministry leader at her local church, and handles SU's communications. As a mom, she understands the struggle to find quiet time and the desire to connect our children with Jesus and His Story. Her favourite time of day is in the morning when she is able to read God's Word with a cup of coffee.

Are you considering making daily Bible reading your New Year resolution? Keep reading for tips to help you keep your New Year’s Resolution of reading the Bible daily.

Did you know that 80-90% of people fail their New Year’s resolutions? And most fail before January is even done!

Here are five tips to help you keep your New Year Resolution of reading the Bible daily

1) Progress Over Perfection.

Growth takes time. Many of us want things to be perfect and easy right from the start, which is not a healthy expectation. Practice is essential!

The other day I was teaching my son the piano, and he was getting frustrated that he couldn’t play the tune perfectly the first time. It reminded me of the years I spent at the piano practicing the same songs repeatedly until I got them right. It’s the same with our Bible reading – you’re not going to start and find that you understand every passage. But the more often you sit down, open your Bible and read it, the more you will understand ait. There will also be times when you skip Bible reading (maybe you forget it or you ran out of time that day), don’t quit!

Here’s a warning
Don’t set unrealistic goals to start!

One of my challenges, when I started reading the Bible daily, was that I wanted to have a beautiful, thoughtful time journaling each day (with fancy pens and colour-coded notes/highlights). I began to skip days when I wouldn’t have time to complete the rigorous journaling routine. When I finally accepted that my journal wouldn’t look beautiful (or I wouldn’t have time for it every day) and just sat with God and His Word each morning – my time in the Word became more routine and straightforward.

2) Try Habit Stacking.

What is something you do every day that is a routine/habit? For me, it is a cup of coffee in my PJs before I start the day. I decided to read my Bible while enjoying that cup of coffee, which has been super helpful in building a habit. I know I have time each morning for my coffee, and it’s now natural to make my coffee, go to my spot on the couch, and open the Bible.

Take a moment and consider some habits you have each day that you could combine with your time in the Word. Perhaps you could listen to Scripture while walking to the bus stop or school or subscribe to our free Bible reading guide, theStory, and determine that each morning when you open your email, you’ll start with time in the Word (theStory sends you an email every morning with a new Bible reading and reflection).

3) Use a Bible Reading Guide.

One of the biggest challenges people encounter with reading the Bible daily is that they don’t know what to read! A Bible Reading Guide will help you work systematically through the Bible. Another great perk is that it helps you to understand and apply the passage to your life. You can do this in 5 minutes or 25! However long you have that day – and it keeps you accountable.

Take our quiz to find which Bible guide is best for you.

We offer new subscribers a fantastic deal on a year’s subscription to our Bible reading guides, Daily Bread and Encounter With God – for 20% off; take our quiz for the discount code.

4) Set Goals.

Goal setting is beneficial in building habits. Perhaps a goal might be to complete working through one book of the Bible before the end of January (check out our shop for theStory book studies to help you do that well!).

Another great goal might be to listen to a book of the Bible each week. Simply open the Bible app and start listening to a book of the Bible for free.

We’ve made this chart that you can print off and keep in your Bible to help you track that you’ve read the Bible each day! Download it free.