How to Use the Bible

Exercises & Practices

Is This Me?

These questions aren't a test. Just notice your internal response — what feels familiar, what creates a twinge of recognition.

• Do you feel guilty about how little you read the Bible, but that guilt hasn't actually changed your behavior?
• When you do open the Bible, does it feel more like a chore than something you're drawn to?
• Do you find yourself reading Scripture without any idea how it connects to the conversation you'll have at work tomorrow or the decision you're wrestling with this week?
• Have you started multiple reading plans only to abandon them within a few weeks?
• Do you hear sermons about Scripture being powerful but your own experience of it feels flat?
• When someone asks about your "quiet time," do you feel the need to perform or exaggerate?
• Do you think of the Bible primarily as a book of rules — things you should and shouldn't do?
• Have you separated "spiritual things" (the Bible) from "practical things" (your actual problems) in your mind?
• Do you read the Bible but rarely find yourself thinking about what you read later in the day?

Questions Worth Sitting With

These don't have quick answers. Sit with them. Let them work on you over days, not minutes.

• What would change if you genuinely believed the Bible was written by Someone who designed you and knows exactly how your life is supposed to work?
• When did your relationship with the Bible shift from curiosity to obligation — and what was happening in your life at the time?
• If you're honest, what are you actually hungry for right now? And have you looked for it in Scripture, or only in other places?
• What would it mean to approach the Bible the way you'd approach an instruction manual when something in your life isn't working?
• Dr. Cloud says he was "born again, again" when he saw the Bible with new eyes. Is there something you need to see with new eyes — not for the first time, but again?
• What area of your life do you most need wisdom for right now — and what would it look like to intentionally search Scripture for insight on that specific area?
• If the Holy Spirit can only bring to memory what's actually in your memory, what have you given Him to work with?
• What would your relationship with Scripture look like if guilt were completely removed from the equation?

Growth Practices

Pick one. Try it this week. Notice what happens.

Week 1: Listen. This week, don't read the Bible — listen to it. Find an audio recording on YouTube (search "Psalms audio" or "Bible read aloud") and listen for 15-20 minutes, three times this week. Try it during a commute, a walk, or before bed. Don't analyze. Just let the words wash over you. Notice how hearing affects you differently than reading.

Week 2: Show Up. Pick a chair. Pick a time. Show up at that spot at least four times this week with your Bible open for at least 10 minutes. Phone off. No email. The goal this week isn't depth — it's rhythm. You're training your body and mind to associate this place and time with being present. Even if nothing dramatic happens, you showed up. That's the whole point.

Week 3: Pray It Back. This week, when you read a passage, spend 2-3 minutes praying it back to God in your own words. If you read "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want," pray: "Lord, be my shepherd today. I need you to guide me. Help me trust that with you, I have what I need." Turn statements into requests. Turn promises into gratitude. Reading becomes conversation.

Week 4: Carry One Verse. Choose one verse from what you've been reading that speaks to something you're currently facing. Write it on a card or put it in your phone notes. Read it several times a day. By the end of the week, notice whether it comes to mind during your regular life — in a conversation, a decision, a moment of stress. This is what it means for Scripture to be "living and active."

Week 5: Name the Area. Identify one specific area of your life that isn't working well — a relational pattern, a recurring emotion, a decision you're stuck on. Ask someone you trust, use a concordance, or search online: "What does the Bible say about [this]?" Read what you find slowly. Look for operating principles, not rules. Apply one thing you discover.

Scenario Cards

Scenario 1: The Stale Routine You've been doing a daily Bible reading plan for three months. At first it felt fresh, but now you're just checking boxes. You read the chapters, close the book, and can't remember what you read by lunchtime. You're not sure if you should push through, try something different, or take a break.

What would you do? What's the difference between discipline and going through the motions?

Scenario 2: The Real Problem A friend comes to you in crisis — their marriage is falling apart, they're anxious all the time, and they feel stuck. You've been reading Scripture more consistently lately and you genuinely believe it has wisdom for their situation. But you also know that saying "just read your Bible" would feel dismissive and unhelpful.

How would you share what you've been learning without it sounding like a platitude? What would you actually say?

Scenario 3: The Skeptic in the Mirror You're in a season where God feels distant. You've been reading, but honestly, nothing is "speaking" to you. You hear other people talk about how Scripture came alive for them in a specific moment, but your experience feels flat. Part of you wonders if something is wrong with you. Part of you wonders if it's all just wishful thinking.

What do you do with that tension? Do you keep going? Change your approach? Sit with the doubt?

Journaling & Reflection

Looking Back

• What were you taught about Bible reading growing up? Was it presented as obligation, relationship, both, or something else entirely? How has that early framing shaped your current approach?
• Think about a season when Scripture felt meaningful to you — even briefly. What was different about that season? What were you going through, and how were you engaging with the text?

Looking Inward

• When you think about reading the Bible right now, what's the first emotion that surfaces — guilt, hunger, curiosity, resistance, hope, indifference? Don't judge it. Just name it.
• If you're honest about the gap between what you believe about Scripture and how you actually engage with it, what's in that gap? What's keeping those two things apart?

Looking Forward

• Describe the version of yourself who has a thriving, life-giving relationship with Scripture. What does that person do? How do they feel about their time with God? What has changed in their life as a result?
• If you could ask God for one thing about your relationship with His Word, what would it be? Not what you think you should ask for — what do you actually want?