When Bible reading feels disconnected

“But Mommy, I plugged it in…!!”

It was the end of the day. The kid’s chores were finished. Their summer assignments done. They had completed their tasks and were now eager for their hard-earned 30 minutes of “tablet time”.

But the four-year-old was distraught as he showed me his dead tablet, and the cord, still connected, “See?”

My eyes followed the cord to the wall, where it had been unplugged from the charging station.

“Hey sweet boy, you did plug it in. You just need to plug it in on both sides for your tablet to work.”

And as soon as I said it, I immediately thought of the word of God.

My husband and I were sharing at a conference last week. (Well, he was doing most of the sharing, I just tag along and jump in very occasionally) As part of our sharing with teens and tweens, we often include an anonymous “question box”, where everyone is encouraged to submit questions about things that keep them from the Lord, difficulties with the Bible, being a Christian in an anti-Christian culture, etc. Among the questions about homosexuality, abortion, and video games … another one came up repeatedly,

“I want to read the Bible, but whenever I start, it feels so dead.”

“I know I’m supposed to read the Bible, but I always get distracted, and everything else seems more interesting to me.”

“It just seems like reading the Bible is for my parents, nothing that applies to me.”

In one word, when it came to reading the Bible, all of these young teens felt:

Disconnected.

I remember the feeling. I also remember when that feeling changed, and reading the word became the most precious thing to me. I’ve been a Christian for 20 years now. And for sure I’ve gone through some dry seasons, and for sure I’ve neglected the word at times. But every time. Every time  I come back to Him, and get into his word – I remember how precious it is. How real and alive it is. And how much He truly does speak to us in his word.

These are some principles learned over the years, through seasons of Bible reading – some glorious, some not so much. In my very earliest days, I was encouraged by Norman Sze’s, Morning Watch Guide and a chapter called, Early Rising in the Basic Lesson Series by Watchman Nee. But other things were learned along the way, through fellowship with other believers, and wrestlings with the Lord during dry and discouraging seasons.

For clarification, there are different ways to read the Bible. There is Bible devotional reading (usually a small portion in the morning, where the focus is to truly meet the Lord), Bible overview reading (like reading through quickly to read the whole Bible in a year or another similar goal), and Bible study (where you are seeking to know the Lord’s heart on one particular word or phrase or topic, etc). I’d recommend all of these to anyone – but the lessons listed below mainly focus on devotional reading – which is almost always best done in the morning.

1) Get Connected

If you are opening your Bible or devotional book in the morning without first lifting up your eyes to the Lord Jesus. Stop. Remember, the cord has to be connected on both ends. It’s like my 4-year-old expecting the charger to charge because he plugged it into his tablet, yet forgot to plug it into the wall. Even if you only have 5 or 10 minutes in the morning, before you open the Word or any devo book, take a minute to be still and behold the Lord with the eyes of your heart. Pray out loud if you can, or mouth the words in a whisper if you can’t. Praying out loud not only keeps you from drifting back to sleep, it also helps to focus your heart and keeps your mind from getting distracted.

Remember that as you read the word in devotional reading, you are not reading to check off a box, you are reading to meet with the Lord.

I always like to have 3 things with me as I get started:

1. a Bible. A paper Bible – don’t use your phone for devo reading. Even if you have notifications turned off, we have our phones associated with too many other things. A paper bible helps you to know in your heart that you are here to be intentional with the Lord. I think Bible apps are great for reading through the Bible and for listening to the Bible in an overview type of way. But for personal devotions – try to stick with your paper Bible.
2. a Journal (with a pen or pencil), set aside for Bible revelations and personal things the Lord shares with you. For me, having a journal nearby means that I expect the Lord to speak, and I’m ready to write it down if he does.
3. a Plain notebook, for writing down any to-dos or urgent tasks that pop into my mind and try to distract me as I come before the Lord. This happens all the time – but once I write it down, I’m able to set it out of my mind, and keep going with the Lord.

A simple prayer, like, “Lord, here I am, open your word to me.” is a wonderful way to begin. But don’t focus on the words, just seek to open your heart to the Lord and seek to worship him in Spirit. Some I know like to sing a short praise song to the Lord. This is a moment to be still and truly let your spirit rise from within and meet the Lord. If you’ve tasted this, you know this is a most amazing thing. The experience is like that song, “I know my redeemer lives” …. but how? “I spoke with him this morning”*  It’s that deep calling unto deep communion that is so, so sweet. It’s how David can say, “O taste and see that the Lord is good” and how Asaph can write, “the nearness of God is my good” and “I desire nothing besides thee” (verse references below)

Because when you truly meet the Lord, and your spirit rises to commune with him – there is truly nothing better. You know God is real, you don’t need someone to prove it to you. You spoke with Him, and He spoke back, and he surrounded you with his presence. And how is it that the creator of the universe comes down and lets us commune with him like this?!!?!?! Humbling. Amazing.

If you have tasted of experiences like this, but now feel nothing, don’t give up. This is a real season that many Christians go through. It is hard and can be very discouraging. I wrote a little about my experience with it in this article, When God Doesn’t Feel Close Anymore.

But if you are meeting the Lord, and you’ve lifted up your eyes to him, now…

2) Begin to Read the Bible

My preacher husband only reads a few verses during this time, but progresses through a book of the Bible, reading the next few verses each day. Occasionally, he gets “interrupted” by the Lord and turns his focus elsewhere, but for the most part, he reads a verse or two each morning, writes them on an index card, and carries the card with him through the day. He will pull it out while he’s working, on lunch breaks, etc – and continue to “chew” on the word.  In the morning, he gathers his “morning Manna”  to chew on throughout the day. (see the story in Exodus 16) When the Israelites went out to gather Manna, they had to go early, while the dew was still on the ground, and they had to gather for the entire day. They didn’t eat that Manna all at once, but throughout the day, they returned to the manna that had been gathered in the morning, and continued to feast on it through the day. He will testify (and I would too, as I have tried this method from time to time), that sometimes the verses may not hit you all at once, but as you continue to meditate on them through the day, you are hiding that verse in your heart and the Lord may speak to you and reveal himself through that verse as you chew on it.

Another method I like to use is to read through one chapter of the Bible (either a New Testament book or a Psalm), but s l o w l y. This is what I did for many, many years, especially before I had children and when I could do my devos in a more leisurely way. I would read through one chapter each morning, reading the New Testament over and over in this way. Each time I began the chapter, I read with the expectation that the Lord would cause something to stand out. And many times, especially in the early years, there were always a couple of verses that did.

Once a verse (or verses) especially jumped out to me, I wrote them in my journal (usually a simple composition book), along with any other notes or thoughts that I thought God was speaking to me through the verse.

In the very beginning, my entries were very simple, “Phil 4:13 – WOW! God is able to help me on my test, even though I’m exhausted from last week’s conference. I can do all things …. through Christ.”   

But as I grew, my entries deepened, and the same verse, years later – produced an entry similar to this, “Phil 4:11-13 – Truly, it is of Him. He gives grace upon grace. (Jn 1:16) There is no limit. And he’s placed me in Him. I’m weary from this weekend, from hosting so many, but he lives in me (Phil 1:21, Gal 2:20). Whether in seasons of peace, or this busy season now, thank God, I can rest and be content in Him … He will give all I need for to make it through today…”

Sometimes, there was nothing that jumped to me, but I would choose a verse that seemed like something for me to notice. And often, as I began to write, the Lord would make the word even more alive in my heart and begin to develop it in me. The very act of writing it down connected it deeper into my heart. This is why I so much encourage …

3) Journaling and Testifying

Have you ever been in a group of people and shared something out loud about the Bible? Have you noticed that you may forget everything else shared in the group, but usually, you remember the thing you shared? When we testify about something we read in the Bible – it stays with us. So I always say, if you can read the Bible with a group of friends – you should. You will not only glean from them and be stronger for it, but every time you have an opportunity to testify and share, it stays with you.

In my early days as a Christian, I joined a small online Bible fellowship group. We would read a chapter of the Bible together, and then everyone was encouraged to share something that stood out to them and how it applied to their life. And this was when the Bible began to be made alive to me. Today, since I can’t always share what I’m reading with other believers – journaling has a similar effect. When I write it down, it causes me to remember his word better, and gives the Lord an easier way to bring back to my heart a conviction or an encouragement or a practical application of his word.

After I finish this time writing something about the verses in my journal, I usually come back to the Lord in prayer for a short time, and then begin my day. In younger days, before kiddos arrived on the scene, I would grab my study journal or my memory stack and keep going. If you have time – I encourage you to use it. I memorized a shoebox full of Bible verses when I was in college, and did several thorough word studies – and to this day, the Lord uses these materials to continue to work in my heart and speak to me, even on crazy days when I barely have a moment in the word.

If you are new to reading the word, or new to really experiencing the word, I hope this gives encouragement and a place to start.

I love his word. I truly do. I still remember one night. I had three young children, (the youngest being a very tiny baby who was up through the night) I was weary. Days and nights were blurring together and in my exhaustion, I had neglected to read God’s word. My husband and I were on a road trip and for some reason I don’t remember, there was a heaviness in the car, and a separation between us. I offered a silent, weak prayer to the Lord, knowing my condition. Some minutes later, my husband’s voice broke through the heaviness as he suggested we read Psalm 119 together.

I began to read, “how I love the law” “sustain me, according to your word.” “comfort me according to your word” “revive me according to your word” “your word is my light, my lamp” “I open my mouth, longing for you …” and as we read together, driving together in the dark night, streams of tears fell down my eyes and his. A deep longing that I didn’t even know I had was immediately filled in my heart. A separation between my husband and I was immediately healed. A heaviness in the car, gone. We knew what we had been missing. It had happened accidentally, through busyness and cares of life slipping in – but Somehow, the word of God had fallen out of being first place. And we weren’t reading the word together. But on that day, as we read, and the tears flowed, I remembered Him, my Lord and my God, who has loved me so much. Who gave me everything I need in his word, who clears up every misunderstanding, comforts every hurt, gives supply for every need, convicts me of sin, yet teaches me to be merciful to others … in his word.

Oh how we need him. Oh how we need his word.

“How sweet are your words” (Ps 119:103)

“O, Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8)

May the Lord bless and meet you as you begin to meet Him in his word.

with love in Christ,

Katherine

You can read another way I’ve had morning devos here, on the Arabah Joy blog or the one-verse method my husband uses (that I’ve picked up too, here), on the Journeywomen Blog)

*Nicole C. Mullen, Redeemer

^Ps 42:7, Ps. 34:8, Ps. 73:28, Ps 73:25

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