Finding time to read scripture is difficult with busy lives. Yet, prioritizing spiritual connection is essential for deepening faith and growing closer to God.
First thing in the morning, remind yourself of this motto: “No other words before THE word,” meaning listen to or read the Bible first before doing anything else. I know this may seem like a bit of a stretch here with your already busy schedule and millions of things on your plate, but hear me out. Set your alarm for 10 to 20 minutes earlier than usual. Purposely and intentionally make this priority. If you have issues with checking social media, news, or email first thing, we are all guilty of this. Put your bible next to your bed and reach for that first thing. If you think you might be tempted to check social media, etc., but still want to use your phone due to early morning and little daylight, open a Bible app on your phone the night before, so that’s the first thing you see when you get up, then choose a chapter or a few verses to read. Say a gratitude prayer and get up. Most mornings, I like to say a gratitude prayer before I get out of bed, then go outside for some grounding. I read a few Bible verses or recite some I have memorized while watching the dog play. Often, I will have a cup of coffee, enjoy the birds, and the quiet stillness of the morning while reading.
Listening to a Bible app is a great way to start the day. This helps keep it fresh in your mind as you commute to work, go to the gym, or plan for the day.
Keep a Bible in your car, read it on your lunch break, at the office during a moment of downtime, have your children read a few verses when you’re running errands, going on a field trip, or on vacation. This opens opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations while on the go. This also teaches your children to engage in Bible lessons and develop their own Bible time habits, no matter where you are. The Bible does tell us to do this.
" Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)
I like to memorize scripture, an example of this is The Full Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18, and pray this particular one while getting ready in the morning. I don’t have this passage fully memorized word for word yet. However, I try to prepare for the day by prayerfully putting on God’s armor as protection. Something like “Heavenly Father, I put on the belt of truth to help me live honestly, the breastplate of righteousness to guard my heart against guilt, accusations and moral compromise, I add the gospel shoes to give me peace and stability as I walk in the world today, the shield of faith to extinguish all the firey arrows of the enemy, the helmet of salvation to protect my mind from unwanted attacks, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God to give me both a defence and offence, to combat the enemy and declare Your truth. In Jesus ’ name, Amen .” This helps me understand that God has already given me a way to defend against spiritual warfare. Knowing He stands in the gap and protects me each day gives me comfort. Often, I realize God has shielded me from things I was unaware of happening until days or weeks later. I smile and thank Him for His protection.
Joining a Bible class at church or creating your own at work, the gym, school, or a homeschool group is an excellent way to share God’s truths with others. This helps create lifelong friendships, fosters a love for God’s word, and enables you to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. That’s what God calls us to do. Right?
" Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”"
Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)
Our family’s favorite evening pastime is an after-dinner devotional. Rotating who leads each night allows everyone a chance to pick a few Bible verses to read and discuss. Allowing our children to explore scripture that resonates with their current questions and struggles. This sharpens their research skills and allows them to take ownership of the conversation. An open opportunity to discuss in a way that feels meaningful to them, while using scripture to navigate their own questions and growth. Let me tell you, our children have opened up conversations that most adults wouldn’t understand, much less be able to convey. The innocent way they view the Bible is humbling. Allow your kids to teach you and be teachable. They’ll be on cloud nine by bedtime.
My challenge to you: Spend the next 30 days by getting up early, practicing “No words before THE WORD.” Listening, reading, and memorizing scripture. Give God the first fruits of all aspects of your life and watch HIM transform your marriage, children, your home, friendships, and daily hustle. You will find a calm, stillness subduly take the place of anxiety, depression, and chayos.
Use these 30 Bible verses below that focus on renewal, strength, and guidance. I encourage you to highlight them in your Bible or on the app with the same highlighter color and make a notation of the focus (renewal, strength, guidance). For your convenience, I organized the Old Testament and the New Testament verses from the NIV translation.
Old Testament
" Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
" The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."
Exodus 15:2 (NIV)
" There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (NIV)
" I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 11:19 (NIV)
" The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights."
Habakkuk 3:19 (NIV)
" You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
" He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."
Isaiah 40:29 (NIV)
" So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
" See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
Isaiah 42:9 (NIV)
" See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
" See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind."
Isaiah 65:17 (NIV)
" "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.""
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
" Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.""
Joshua 10:25 (NIV)
" Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22–23 (NIV)
" The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
" The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."
Psalm 29:11 (NIV)
" Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy."
Psalm 33:3 (NIV)
" Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
" He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him."
Psalm 40:3 (NIV)
" God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
Psalm 46:1–3 (NIV)
" You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word."
Psalm 119:114 (NIV)
" So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty."
Zechariah 4:6 (NIV)
New Testament
" Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
" Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
Colossians 3:9–10 (NIV)
" I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being."
Ephesians 3:16 (NIV)
" You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Ephesians 4:22–24 (NIV)
" I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
Philippians 3:10–11 (NIV)
" I can do all this through him who gives me strength."
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
" He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.""
Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
" For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin."
Romans 6:6–7 (NIV)