How Much?

How much "Bible" should I read in a day? How much should I read in my personal Devotion time or Bible Study? 

For years I always struggled with reading the Bible daily in the first place. For a good few years (probably more) I was probably a lukewarm Christian who only read my Bible on Sunday. I did not mean to just ignore the truths in front of me. Through that, I was not living my life for Christ because I forgot some of the things He told me to do through His Word. I did not live differently every other day of the week, I just clearly did not care about reading the Bible. I thought it was boring and never wanted to get into difficult chapters or books. Yet, through the years God has shown me the importance of His Word. I once heard via a sermon or small group that I will not enjoy reading the Bible until I start. Then, it will become a habit and I will not want to go a day without reading the Bible. So, I think it is important to start with the idea that it is better to read something from your Bible daily than nothing at all. 

From that thought, though, there are multiple approaches. I personally believe it has to do with the person. For example, my pastor would always encourage the congregation to read a chapter of the Bible a week (so a few verses a day) because the adult Sunday School would go over the content the next week during the Sunday School hour. Yet, at that point, I personally was reading about a chapter a day. It depends on the person because some people need to start with only a few verses. They are not able to commit to the time span or concentration to focus on what there is to learn in that one chapter.
In my Sunday School class a few months ago (before COVID) we were encouraged to read the Bible for two minutes- set a timer. BUT, we would have to record in a notebook that they gave us what we learned from what we read in those two minutes. If we were really paying attention to the content instead of the passing time, then the next week we would have so many great discussions about things that stood out to different people. This was following what Pastor had been saying, but it took a different approach because it focused on what we were reading about, instead of just reading it to read it. 

Yet, there is the opposite side of the spectrum- people who do say they read a book a day, or ten chapters a day. I know that it is possible, and sometimes even plausible for such to happen, but I do not encourage it in most cases. I am sure that those who read that much can still learn so much from it, but it is more difficult. When I did this method, trying to read through the Bible in a Year, or even 90 days or less, the words don't seem to be much more than just that- words. Each reader should take the time to look at exactly what message is being portrayed. What does the author want to communicate? What does God want to show you through His Word today? When you are trying to read 15 chapters in a short amount of time, it does not leave too much time for looking at what is being communicated. I do not recommend this method. 

Final answer: I recommend that it is not about quantity, not quality. I have found that I can read about a chapter or two a day and stay focused through it all. It is important to take what we are using in this class to look closer into the specific meaning of the passage, and how we can apply it to our lives. I think a reasonable amount is a chapter or two a day. Sometimes it is a good idea to read section by section, instead of chapter by chapter. Take time to think about what you are reading, and see if there are any practical applications to what you read.