Growing in God's Word

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” Many Christians would say it is hard to study God’s word when they don’t have a real desire to read it let alone study it, and when you do actually read it, you have a hard time understanding it. What is a Christian to do?

Part of the reason it seems so difficult is that Satan does not want you to read it or study it. Outside of prayer, it is the most important thing in your Christian walk.

Let me give you four practical steps to help you in your desire to read and study God’s word more:

Tell God how you feel. Tell him your struggles to read, let alone study and grasp the great truths of his word. Ask him for His help. Ask him to give you a love and desire like you have not had before. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths of the Bible to you in a way you can understand it. Be honest with God. He never gets mad at anyone who is trying to read His word more.
Don’t take on more than you can handle. How do you eat dinner? One bite at a time. So many Christians want to start out with a big task like read the whole Bible in a year or do an in depth study of the book of Revelation. After a good start it seems to be overwhelming. Start off small. A few verses a day. A chapter a week. Maybe a book in a month. Baby steps.
Set goals but make them realistic. People who set goals are more likely to accomplish them. I would suggest setting weekly goals to start with. Maybe reading the Bible 3 days this coming week and then move up from there. Write them down and put it somewhere that you can see it each day. Maybe on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator door. Challenge yourself. God wants you to be more than you are now.
Embrace the Hardship. Remember if it wasn’t hard everyone would do it, and Satan definitely does not want you to do it. When you hit that wall or meet that spiritual battle, learn to fight through it. Look at it as a blessing showing you are doing the right thing. Satan would leave you alone if you left the word of God alone. Some of my greatest personal blessings have come at times when I didn’t have the desire to open and read God’s word and yet I did. God rewarded my perseverance and he will with yours as well.