Let’s be honest, we are always on our phones. We carry them around everywhere, we take 1000s of pictures on them. You probably pick it up first thing in the morning and it might be the last thing you look at before you go to sleep. They can easily take over our lives. But, they can also be a very useful tool to study God’s Word, especially for us busy moms! Here are 4 ways you can study God’s Word all on your phone!
Disclaimer: While this post is focused on using your phone to study God’s Word. I have to note that your phone can NEVER replace actually picking up a Bible and reading/studying that. Our phone can be great tools, but it is not meant to be a replacement by any means. These ideas I’m sharing should be done in addition to reading your actual Bible. Okay, that’s all.
1. Bible App
First and foremost, get an app on your phone that has the Bible in it! There are several good ones. I like the YouVersion app or the Grace to You app. (You can even purchase a study Bible with all the notes right on your phone, what a tool!)
I’m listing this app first because, as believers, we need to read the Bible everyday. So, if you can get in a few verses or a chapter here and there throughout the day, do it! Use the app on your phone, read the verse of the day from YouVersion, actually look up that verse you can’t remember the reference to.
These little bits of studying God’s Word add up in the end. Any progress or familiarization with God’s Word we can do is beneficial and helpful for later.
2. Daily Devotionals on Kindle
Secondly, having the Kindle app on your phone is a great way to use your phone for good. There are SO many options when it comes to books on Kindle. Instead of recommending the app in general, I recommend getting some sort of daily devotional book. Here are two that I particularly like: Morning and Evening by Spurgeon and New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.
While novels are encouraging and non-fiction Christian literature is great, we don’t always have the time to sit down with our phones and turn page upon page. But a daily devotional book is written in such a way that you can read a small amount, usually a page, and still get a whole lesson or thought out of that reading. It’s broken down into bite-sized chunks and you don’t have to carry thoughts from chapter to chapter.
This makes them great to read quickly when you have a minute throughout the day. Or, maybe, you decide that you can only check social media once you’ve read your daily devotional. Not saying you have to do this, but making rules like this does help with phone time in general. I also like that they are dated for each day of the year. That makes it easy to know exactly what you should read that day, no guessing or trying to decide what you want to read.
3. The Bible Memory App
A third way to use your phone to study the Bible is by memorizing verses. Memorizing Bible verses is a hard task! I have a whole blog post about it here. It’s hard, but it’s also SO beneficial and helpful for our daily battle with sin. When you are straying and need to be reigned in, reciting verses you’ve memorized is sure to bring you back to the Lord and what He wants for you in that moment.
So, that’s why we should use our phones to memorize Scripture! There are several apps that help with this, but I have only used (and therefore recommend) The Bible Memory App.
You simply select which passages you want to memorize and get to work. The app will quiz you on the verses and then take away some of the words until you are only typing in the first letter of each word in the verse. You can also practice long sections of Scripture on this app, which is very helpful!
I personally used this app to memorize Psalm 139 a couple years ago. I know much more of that Psalm than I did in the past and it’s brought to my mind often because I memorized it. Every little bit counts.
4. Set Alarms and Timers
Now that you know what to do on your phone, here’s how you remember when to do it. Set an alarm with a label that is memorable (such as “Read your Bible!”). Set it for a time that you usually are on your phone (maybe right after your “wake up” alarm?). Use this reminder to do one of the things listed above.
Another way to help is to set a timer. Time how long it takes you to read your daily devotional. Is it 30 seconds? 1 minute? Maybe 2? Whatever the time, mark it down in your brain. Then when you have that 1 minute or 30 seconds to spare or your alarm goes off, read your devotional.
Maybe this last one sounds a little overkill, like you have to control yourself with your phone. Well, surprise, we do have to control ourselves! Self control is one of the fruits of the Spirit after all! (See Galatians 5:22-23). And one way to do just that is by utilizing our phones. Remember, they are tools. They do not run our lives.
Bonus Tip: Logos Software
If you are reading this as a seminary or pastor’s wife, then this tip may apply to you! If your husband uses the Logos Bible Software for research (chances are that he does), then you can also read this on your phone! I use the Logos app all the time to look up words I don’t know or to read some of my favorite commentaries. So ask your hubby if you can piggyback on some of the books he’s using in your own study. It’s a lot of fun!
Use Your Phone for Good!
So, to sum up, it’s pretty easy to use your phone for Bible study instead of just scrolling. Once you’ve got it set up with the right apps, you’re ready to go! Let’s make the little breaks in our day matter for eternity by dwelling on God’s Word as much as we can.
Which app are you going to try? Let me know in the comments!
Related Posts:
How to Manage Phone Time
How to Read Your Bible As A Busy Mom
3 Ways to Dwell in God’s Word
Resources Mentioned:
This post contains affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.
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