How To Read the Entire Bible in 30 Days: Plan

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When is the last time you read through the entire Bible? (Or, have you ever?) If you’re anything like me, those Bible reading plans to finish the Bible in a year seem…overwhelming. Which doesn’t make any sense, I know. Reading the Bible in 365 days seems overwhelming to me, but a plan to read the entire Bible in 30 days does not?

Hear me out on this one. Here is why you need to read the entire Bible in 30 days (and then, I’ll tell you how to do it!):

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Why read the Bible in 30 days?

1. First of all, it’s doable.

It really is. And if it’s hard for you to commit to a yearly plan (as in, you get distracted and find other Bible studies and lessons that you want to do and then become absorbed in them and eventually abandon your year plan), then this plan is for you! A short-term goal is much more easily accomplished than a long one.

2. It gives you a new perspective on a lot of Bible stories.

I love studying things really in depth…but then, sometimes I forget the context. When I study about how Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem in the book of Acts, for example, it’s easy for me to forget what happened to him before that…like that he had been imprisoned in Philippi too. Reading so much of the Bible at once gives you a chance to really see and understand the entire lives and stories of the people.

3. It allows you to appreciate and recognize the differences in the gospels.

This was my favorite part of this reading plan. By the time I got to Luke, it made me appreciate the storytelling — the way that he included so many events before Jesus’ birth, unlike any of the other gospels.

4. It reminds you of the big picture + God’s plan all along.

Something about reading the Bible this quickly allows you to make connections between books and people, realizing that everything was a part of God’s plan the whole time. Not to mention I read the book of Matthew in one day, allowing me to see all of Jesus’ ministry in just one day!

Convinced that you should do it yet?

How to Read the Bible in 30 Days

Okay, first I have a confession to make: I actually read it in 40 days, not 30. The Bible reading plan I had was for 30 days…and then there was one or two days when I got home exhausted or didn’t have time or something came up or… you get the idea. But I didn’t want to give it up, and I thought — why not 40 days? So, here is how to read the Bible in 30 40 days:

1. Commit.

Okay, here’s one of the keys: Don’t go into this thinking it’s 40 days. If you do, you’ll allow yourself to skip some days, start to divide one of the days into two days, find excuses of why you don’t have time that day….you know what I mean. Commit to it. And then, if something crazy comes up, take the day off, give yourself a little breathing room, and make it 40 days like I did. (If it makes it easier for you to commit, tell other people you’re doing this. You’ll feel stupid if you make a big deal of doing this, and then when they ask how it’s going…you say you gave up.)

2. This is obvious, but — set aside the time to do it.

You have to schedule it into your day. Make it a priority, like an appointment you can’t miss. (Think about how often you commit to things that take up 1-2 hours of your day…make this one of them.) Also, this goes without saying, but do this in a month when you know you will have the time. (If you don’t think you ever will, that’s a separate issue.) But just don’t try to do this during your busiest month of the year at work!

3. Read on your phone and/or throughout the day if you want.

Personally, I did not do it this way. I preferred to set aside an hour or two and read from my paper Bible. But the advantage of having it on your phone is you have it wherever you go. Give up social media for a month, and every time you go to open it up on your phone, open up your Bible app instead. This could get disjointed if you are reading throughout the day, but then again it could have its advantages too.

4. You may have to skim some parts (ie genealogies).

This 30 day entire Bible reading plan makes you realize that there some parts of the Bible you’ve never read before (and why you haven’t). The book of Numbers, anyone? When’s the last time you read that?
Remember, the point of this plan is to get the big picture — don’t read the commentaries, don’t take notes, don’t copy verses in your journal. (I did do some underlining, but that was it.)

5. Follow a “Bible in 30 days” reading plan. Here’s mine.

I would imagine there are other plans out there online if you want to look — I simply divided the pages in my Bible by 30 (and then made sure I ended at the end of a chapter or at the end of a book even if it was an extra chapter or two).

And now, download my plan + go get started!

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