Over the 18 years I’ve been a pastor, when I ask people what their “next step” in terms of faith is, I usually get one of two answers: Answer 1: I want to pray more/better. Answer 2: I want to read the Bible more/better.
Prayer is a great thing to want to do more and/or better, but we’re going to tackle the second of those items – reading the Bible. Usually when I get into the conversation with people, one of the things that comes out is expectations about how much to read. This is a real question that a lot of people have, about how much of the Bible should I read per day/week/month, etc. The answer is: It depends.
Many years ago here at University Lutheran we ran a year long Bible study where we attempted to read the Bible in a year. Actually it was the Old Testament once, and the Psalms and the New Testament twice – so more than the Bible in a Year. The daily reading that I had to do for that usually took me about 40 minutes (I’m not a super speedy reader, so that might be some of it). That is honestly a pretty hefty chunk. Last year in “Together with Jesus,” we read two chapters a week. Reading THAT, and reading it out loud usually took 10 minutes. You could also try just reading a verse a day. This, of course, takes a matter of seconds – but if you choose this way, you maybe want to make it last a little longer by repeating it or even trying to memorize it, maybe for 2 minutes or something.
The point is that there is no “right” amount to read the Bible. God promises us that His “Word will not return void” (Isaiah 55). Reading for an hour won’t return void, and reading for a minute will not return void. He will provide something in each of those.
So the question is not one of the right amount, but of what you can reasonably do in your schedule. I know that my drive from home to church takes about 10-15 minutes. I know that a certain loop I walk around campus takes about 20 minutes. I know I brush my teeth for two minutes. It just takes figuring out a time that works for you. And oh, by the way, there is no “perfect” time to read the Bible either – the perfect time is the time that you can do it in.
But here’s the thing, no matter how long you read for and no matter when you read – God promises that it will do something. That’s what He means when He says it “won’t return void”. His Word makes a difference whether it is a sentence or a chapter. He stands behind His Word and He speaks to You through His Word. It won’t return void, just don’t let your void of reading get in the way of hearing Him.