As life-giving as reading the Bible is, sometimes it can get tiresome to engage with it in the same way every single day. You open the same Bible you’ve had since your seventh-grade baptism, you use the one highlighter you found years ago that miraculously doesn’t bleed through the pages, and you use the same carousel of responses to write notes in the margins.
It worked when you started it, and it still works now. But maybe you’re also looking for new and enjoyable ways to engage with God and grow deeper in your relationship with him.
This will look different for everyone, but we’ve listed some creative ways to engage with the Bible below:
🗣️READ IT OUT LOUD
Whether you’re alone or with other people, reading out loud can feel awkward, but when it comes to reading the Bible, it’s really helpful. Reading out loud helps you recall information; so, if you apply it to your Bible reading, it can help you remember important scriptures when you need them. And if you’re like us and find some parts of the Bible confusing, it can help you understand complex pieces of scripture. Because, instead of just quickly reading/skimming the information, it forces you to slow down, so you can see and hear it.
👭STUDY WITH FRIENDS
God designed us to need community, and one way to create and grow that community is through studying his word together. When we engage with scripture alongside others, it allows us to ask questions, gain perspective, and bond with others. Our friends also hold us accountable in our walk with God through their encouragement and reminder of God’s truths. If you don’t have friends you can study the Bible with, join a group at a church or start one of your own! As scary as it sounds, if you’re desiring it, others are too, so you won’t be alone.
🧠MEDITATE ON IT
Meditation might feel unrelated to the Bible, but it’s actually mentioned in Scripture (Joshua 1:8) and is a great way to combine Bible reading with prayer. Biblical meditation starts with picking a verse or phrase from scripture and reading it over several times. Then, thinking through it word by word, asking yourself things like: What does this reveal about God? What does this reveal about people? And how should I respond to this? Because you’re looking at scripture piece by piece, it allows more time to pray as you consider what the verse is saying. And when we have more time to think about what each individual part means, it allows us to understand God deeper and grow closer to him.
👩🎨SKETCH IT OUT
Whether you’re the modern-day DaVinci or have the drawing skills of a preschooler, sketching out scripture can be really helpful for understanding. One way to do it is by picking a passage and reading over it a couple of times, making notes of what you think the main message is, and sketching out a representation of that message. You could do this using symbols and stick figures in the margins of your Bible or by drawing a realistic picture on a separate sheet of paper. Even if the picture isn’t pretty, your thought and interpretation will help you remember your takeaways from scripture.
💭IMAGINE IT
Do you ever wish you were one of the people who got to stand in the presence of Jesus? Well, imagining scripture allows you to put yourself in that situation. This works by closing your eyes after you read or while you listen to a Bible passage and picturing yourself in the story. There are a few things you can think about as you do this: who you are in the story (yourself, one of the disciples, another one of the characters) and what you can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. Then, read/listen again and pay attention to how you feel as you experience it. When you immerse yourself in the stories of the Bible, it deepens your understanding and connection to what happened, who the characters were, and who God is.
🏃LIVE IT
Engaging with the Bible is great, but like we’re encouraged in James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” We shouldn’t just read it; we should act on it. A life that truly emulates the Bible comes from studying scripture and applying it to our relationship with Jesus. Another practice that can help is memorizing verses that relate to an area where you struggle to live for God. You can also write those verses down and put them somewhere you can see them daily, like hanging them on your mirror or making them your screensaver.
