Hello Friends,

I think we all realize that being consistent in our time with God can be a struggle!

We know we need God, but sometimes we don’t realize how much we need Him! Not only that, but Satan uses so many distractions and “obstacles” to keep us from our time with the Lord. I’m sure if you stopped to think about it for a few minutes, you could quickly identify a few things that distract you from the Word of God on a regular basis.

This, my friend, is what I want to talk about today.

A few weeks ago, I asked a question on my Instagram stories asking everyone to tell me the #1 thing that keeps them from the Word of God. While I got various answers, many of them could be narrowed down to just three simple things.

I want us to talk about these three things that are keeping YOU from the Word of God and find solutions around them. Together, we can take an honest look at these common distractions and find simple ways to work around or eliminate them.

I know this post is going to be extremely helpful for you (and for me!) so let’s get started.

3 Things Keeping You From the Word of God

1.Your Phone

Raise your hand if you’ve ever reached for your phone first thing in the morning? (Me! I’m certainly raising my hand!)

Most of us are extremely attached to our phone. We all know it. Battling the “screen addiction” is a real thing. Unfortunately, not only do we spend too much time on our phone, we allow it to distract us and keep us from our time with God.

It’s so easy to get swept into our scrolling and clicking that we waste away morning minutes (dare I say, hours?) that ought to be spent with the Lord. Whether you spend time with the Lord in the morning or evening, it’s easy for our phone to distract us when we are supposed to be in the Word.

We know it’s a common problem, and for many ladies, it’s the #1 thing keeping them from the Word of God. So what do we do about it? How do we fix this problem?

Here are some ways to fix the phone distraction:

• Set boundaries on your phone time. Choose a reasonable cut off time at night for your phone. In the mornings, keep the first hour or so “cell phone free”. (Set a real alarm instead of depending on your phone.) We need to set boundaries on our phone time in order to make time with God (and others!) a priority. My personal goal is to put my phone in a different room by 8 or 9pm at night and not reach for it first thing in the morning.

• Charge your phone in a different room. Keeping your phone in a different room to charge (especially at night) means you won’t be able to reach for it first thing in the morning. If you aren’t swept into your phone first thing in the morning, you’re more likely to spend un-distracted time in the Word.

• Don’t reach for your phone until you’ve read the Bible. This does not need to become a strict rule you follow every day. But in a world where everyone is addicted to their cell phone, it’s not a bad guideline to follow. On a typical morning, if you haven’t had a chance to get in the Word, don’t hop on your phone until you’ve had the chance to do so! (If you choose to have your time with God at night, then obviously this tip should be applied to your evening instead).

• Don’t read the Bible on your phone. If your phone distracts you during your time with God, then you want to make sure you’re actually using your Bible and not just the app on your phone! I use (and absolutely LOVE) my KJV Creative Bible -it’s way better than using an app on my phone!

• Turn your phone off while you have your devotions. If you just can’t stay away from your phone while you’re doing your devotions, then turn it OFF! If you know your phone is turned off it will help eliminate the temptation to pick up your phone while you’re doing your devotions.

We need God so much more than our phone, but the amount of time we spend on our phone seems to say something different.

If your phone is the #1 thing keeping you from the Word of God, then today is the day to change that. Start taking action so that you can prioritize your time with God over your phone. By God’s grace, we don’t need to live addicted to our phones, instead we can learn how to control our time on our phone so we can spend adequate time with the Lord!

2. Your To-Do List

Sometimes the busyness of our lives and the pull of our to-do list can keep us from sitting down for our time with the Lord.

Depending on your life circumstances, you may have plenty of extra time for reading God’s Word, or you may struggle to fit in even a few verses and a quick prayer. No matter how much (or how little) time you have on your hands… you must realize one thing. In order for your time with God to becoming your #1 priority, you must CHOOSE to make it your priority! It’s a choice you must make. Will you make time for the Word of God, even when your life is busy? If you want it badly enough, you will learn to make it happen. We make time for the things we truly want to do.

If you love football, you will make time to watch your favorites teams play.

If you love a particular TV show you will somehow carve out time in the evening to watch the next episode.

If you love your significant other, you will carve out ample time each week to be with them.

If you really want to be in the Word of God, you can (and must!) find a way to get into the Word of God.

It’s as simple as making the choice to make time for God and His Word. If you want God’s Word to be a priority in your life then you must make it your priority!

So, on a practical level, how do we do this? Here are some tips for keeping God’s Word FIRST on your list:

• If your to-do list is keeping you from the Word of God, then put “time with God” on your to-do list! Until you’ve learned to make time with God a habit and a priority, don’t be afraid to put it on your to-do list as a reminder.

• Keep a checklist of the days you’ve spent in the Word of God. Sometimes, it’s incredibly eye-opening to visualize how many days you’ve had your devotions, and also see how many days you have missed. Elizabeth George has a free Quiet Times Calendar on her resources page. This is a helpful visual because you can mark off the days you spent time in the Word. (I put “Devotions” down as a daily action item in my Powersheets Goal Planner. This helps me see how faithfully I’ve been in the Word over the course of a month).

• Have your devotions first. If you can, learn to have your devotions first. Preferably in the morning before your busy day gets underway and you get distracted by your to-do list. Again, this comes down to a choice you must make. If morning devotions just do not suit you, than make your time with God a “first” priority in the evening.

• Wake up early enough so that you can have your devotions before the duties and demands of the day. If your mornings are chaotic and hectic and you just can’t imagine doing your devotions before anything else on your daily to-do list… Consider going to bed earlier so you can wake up earlier and therefore have more time to spend in the Word. This takes discipline and means going to bed and getting up when you should, instead of when you feel like it.

We are all going to face times in our lives when it’s hard to fit in time with the Lord… but that is when we need to determine if God’s Word will be a priority in our lives or not. Remember, it’s a choice you must make! ♥

3. A Lack of Understanding

Sometimes, we may have a strong desire to be in God’s Word, but we struggle to stay focused and truly understand what God’s Word is saying. We may find ourselves thinking things like…

What does this passage/verse mean?

How can I apply this to my life?

I have no idea what I just read!

There are times when the Word of God just seems confusing and hard to understand. It can be intimidating to pick up our Bible and read the Word of God when we don’t understand what’s it’s saying! This can be a huge inhibitor of our time in the Word.

If a lack of understanding is keeping us from the Word, how can we fix it?

• Pray for understanding. I love David’s prayer in Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” God wants us to to understand His Word! Don’t be afraid to pray and ASK Him to “open your eyes” and help you understand His Word!

• Dig a little deeper. We are supposed to be diligent students of the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15). If you don’t understand a passage, take some extra time to ponder it, pray about it, and do some more research into the passage. Personally, if I don’t understand a particular passage, I will usually turn to one of two things: 1) E-Sword -a free computer program that helps you study the Bible and look up words, verses, definitions, etc. 2) The Life Application Study – a study Bible with helpful notes, definitions and applications.

• Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to approach someone with your Bible study questions. Ask your pastor, your dad, your pastor’s wife, or another teacher you trust. There’s nothing wrong with seeking answers to your Bible study questions!

• Read a commentary. Commentaries are also incredibly helpful for understanding books of the Bible and certain passages of Scripture. My husband and I love referring to The Be Series by Warren Wiersbe. They are very helpful and easy-to-understand commentaries on specific books of the Bible.

Please, please, don’t let a lack of understanding keep you from reading the Word of God! Often times, the more you read God’s Word the more you will understand it. Don’t give up, keep praying for wisdom and understanding and God will help you understand His Word!

Final Thoughts

I hope this post encourages you to make God’s Word your priority! It’s so easy to let other things in life keep us from spending time in God’s Word and growing in our walk with Him. Whatever it is that’s keeping you from God’s Word, I hope you will identify it and makes steps to change it! Satan wants to keeps us from our time with the Lord, because he knows without it, we will surely fail!

If this post was a help and an encouragement to you, would you please share it with a friend? This helps me reach more young women with my blog so that I can encourage them to follow Christ and live a radiant life in Him! ♥

→ I have also created a little “info graphic” to help you remember the tips I shared with you today. You can save it to your computer, “pin it” on Pinterest, or share it to Facebook or Twitter.

Until Next Time,

Rebekah Joy ♥