Daily Bible Reading & Prayer
Which Bible translation?
Thankfully, most modern Bible translations are pretty good. At Christ Church, we often use the New International Version (NIV) which has a good balance of readability and accuracy. Another very good option you might like to try is the New Living Translation (NLT) - which is even easier to read, and often inserts little clarifying details so you don't need to look at footnotes too often. If you want a super-literal word-for-word translation to help you with more detailed Bible study, the New American Standard Bible (NASB) is a great option.
And a highly recommended resource for going deeper into the Bible by yourself is to invest in your own Study Bible. They are not cheap, but are a great one-off investment for growing in your faith, with helpful explanatory notes and maps covering a huge number of questions and details that people would naturally ask. e.g. ESV Study Bible or NIV Study Bible.
10 ways to get your daily bread
1. Book of Proverbs – quick, easy + a good fallback option when you’re tired (5 minutes)
Read 10 verses (or the whole chapter) of Proverbs relating to the day of the month.
e.g. If it’s 15th January, go to chapter 15. Then pick one that strikes you, and turn it into prayer.
2. Daily Prayer App - Anglican lectionary (20 minutes)
A great free resource from the Church of England to read through or listen to. The daily Morning and Evening Prayer services take you through the whole Bible using the Anglican lectionary in a service of liturgy and prayer.
For today’s audio service, click here - halfway down the page.
For the app click here
3. Daily Bible Reading Notes (usually 5-10 mins + prayer)
The Explore Bible app or quarterly booklets from the Good Book Company are a great way to get into systematic personal Bible study.
A great general website for Christian books is 10ofthose.com and they have many devotional resources to choose from for people of all ages and types. There are many short, medium or year-length options. A few of our in-house recommendations include:
The free YouVersion Bible app also offers many devotionals - albeit of varying quality
4. Church Bible Readings (5-10 minutes + prayer)
Take home the printed readings from our 9.30 service each week and focus on one reading per day. Perhaps use the SOAP devotional method below.
5. Bible in 1 year (usually 4 chapters per day; 20 mins + prayer)
Reading through the whole Bible is definitely something to do if you can. There are many many ways to do this ...
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The Ligonier website helpfully offers free downloads of many different plans to suit different preferences
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Many have found the BiOY app a helpful way to listen through the Bible with David Suchet, Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. There are 3 options - classic, youth, express.
6. Bible in 2 years, 3 year or whatever pace you like (e.g. 2 chapters per day; 10 mins + prayer)
For some, going through the whole Bible in one year is an unrealistic. A two or three year plan is just as valuable. As well as the checklists above from the Ligonier website - which you can obviously do at your own pace - you can also use this Bible Reading Plan Generator to tailor your own personalised plan to whatever length and pattern you like.
7. A Bible book at your own pace (various)
Choose a book and study it at your own pace. One helpful way to focus this is to do a SOAP journal, recording 4 things each day:
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Scripture passage
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Observation – one thing that strikes you
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Application – one relevant application to your mind, heart or behaviour
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Prayer – one simple prayer informed by what you’ve read
If you don't know where to begin, Luke's Gospel is often a good place to start, perhaps followed by the book of Acts and then 1 Thessalonians.
8. Sermon-based devotions (10-15 mins + prayer)
Spend a week’s worth of devotions applying Sunday’s sermon text more deeply. Pick one point or verse to focus on each day. Make notes. Make notes on your notes. Turn details into prayers and action points. Go deeper with a study Bible or commentary.
9. Memorising Scripture (5 mins)
Spend a week memorising and meditating on 5 verses of a juicy, Gospel-packed passage of Scripture (e.g. Romans 5:1-5, 1 Peter 1:3-9) or a short psalm (e.g. Psalm 23)
Perhaps print them out with an increasing number of gaps each day.
10. Christian books – one chapter at a time (various)
There are plenty of great Christian books to help you grow in your walk with God. Maybe ask Rev Mark or Rev Ian for personal recommendations. Two pointers with this devotional pattern:
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Do read a bit of Bible at the same time (e.g. a passage referenced in the chapter)
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This can be a more difficult daily option if a book has long chapters!