Tips for Consistent Bible Reading
Ashley Hetherington
4 min read ⭑
Let’s be honest. You are not always going to feel like doing something that’s good for you. In fact, the things that are best for us are rarely things we will want to do.
Whether it’s choosing to drink a glass of water instead of a Coke, choosing to eat a salad instead of a doughnut, or choosing to go for a run instead of sleeping in, we as humans don’t find that discipline comes naturally.
But discipline gets easier the more you flex that muscle.
The way you get fit is to go to the gym and eat healthy, which isn’t always fun. But the way you build this lifestyle of working out and eating healthy is by committing to it, even if you don’t want to. That’s how you see results.
Halyna Olshanetska; Unsplash
The same is true of Bible reading. Just because some days you don’t feel like reading your Bible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it. It just means you must discipline yourself to do the things you don’t always feel like doing.
And as you discipline yourself every day to wake up early and get into your Bible, with a cozy drink, in a cute corner of your house, maybe you’ll even look forward to your daily time with God. And that daily discipline of reading your Bible will become something you’ll never want to miss.
So let’s dig deeper into how to read the Bible consistently.
Have the Right Tools
In order to read the Bible every day, you’re going to need a Bible. We’re starting simple here.
When I got started with my Bible reading journey, I didn’t want just any Bible. I wanted one that was cute and that had ample space to write in.
James Clear, in his book “Atomic Habits,” stresses the importance of making good habits attractive to increase the likelihood of adopting them. After all, if a behavior gives off positive feelings, you’re more likely to want to do it. This is why I advocate for having a cute Bible. If your Bible is cute, you’re more likely to make reading it a habit. (I especially like those from Hosanna Revival.)
If you’re shopping for a Bible, you’ll notice that you have a choice of several translations. The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and was translated into other languages. When it comes to English translations, my favorite ones are the New International Version (NIV), New Living Translation (NLT), English Standard Version (ESV), and Christian Standard Bible (CSB). I also like Bibles that have decorative margins with ample space for note-taking.
To make the most of your Bible reading experience, you should consider having a cute journal and cute pens and highlighters too (my favorites are from Mr. Pen). We are all about forming good habits here, and I think James Clear would be proud to hear we are making all our supplies cute.
If you don’t have a Bible and you’re tight on resources, you can always access the Bible on your phone through the YouVersion app, which allows you to read the scripture of the day and takes only around five minutes.
Out of the sixty-six books in the Bible, I would recommend starting with the gospel of John. The word gospel means “good news,” and the four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — tell the story of Jesus’s life from different perspectives. These are the first four books of the New Testament.
Next, I would read Matthew. Then Romans, James and Proverbs.
These books can be super helpful to get you started on your Bible reading journey.
Commit to a Bible Reading Plan
Once you’ve read a couple of books of the Bible, you might decide you want further help to know how to keep going. One way to read through the Bible in a logical order is to use a Bible reading plan. There are plenty of plans to choose from. Some enable you to read through the whole Bible in a year. Others guide you through the Bible chronologically or topically.
I encourage you to check out the YouVersion app or my online community the Tree, which gives you a daily reading plan to follow. You can read this plan on the go, while you’re on a walk or just going about your day. It’s also a great way to join a community of other women who can hold you accountable.
Ashley Hetherington is the author of the USA Today and ECPA bestseller The Joy of the In-Between. She is also a writer, speaker, content creator, Jesus lover, bookworm and founder of The Honey Scoop, a platform that encourages and equips young women to grow their faith and reach their full potential in God.
Taken from “The Sowing Season” by Ashley Hetherington. Copyright © 2026. Used by permission of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group.
