For many of us, taking the time to focus on something such as reading the Bible is difficult. Especially when we have young children, it seems like we are always splitting our focus between the never-ending “mom” and the general chaos of a busy home. This is also the case for those who work from home or even outside of the home.
We often think, “when my kids are older, it will be easier,” or “One day, when I retire I’ll be able to focus on the Word,” but the truth is, there will always be distractions. Since I have become older, I thought that perhaps my struggles are just because of age, but now I think, like everyone else, I struggle with being easily distracted by anything going on.
Gone are the days when I could focus on a task efficiently. Because of this, I want to share some Bible-focus strategies that have worked for me.
1. Start by asking these pertinent questions. Then, as you answer them, you can refer back to them so that you can keep this clear as you move further into the book.
- Where is this taking place?
- Who are the parties involved?
- What is going on?
- When is this happening?
- How did this come to be?
2. Slow down your reading. I know it feels counter-productive to slow down when reading, but it can help us comprehend better so that we can more easily remember what we read. I find that I skim a lot more than I thought I did.
3. Summarize what you’re reading. I find that this helps me a lot. I like to summarize each paragraph with a sentence or two; this helps me to be able to read my sentences to remind myself what was going on.
4. Read out loud. Whenever I cannot focus as well as I’d like, I read out loud. Reading out loud prevents me from skimming over the text and not reading.
5. Read it again. Re-reading can help to reinforce what we have read and learned. I have many friends that read their Bible in the morning and then re-read it in the evening.
6. Listen while reading. This is one of my go-to’s when I want to remember what I have read. While I listen to the passage, I also read the text; thus, it is auditory and visual. For whatever reason, this works best for me.
7. Set aside a place and time so that you can focus. I have to be able to shut the door on the rest of the house to focus. If I don’t, I can’t even tell you how many times I will get up to do something or get interrupted.
It was vital for me to try each of these so that I could see which worked best for me. I discovered that asking the essential questions and answering them helped me know what was going on in the book because I tend to forget the story’s who, what, where, how, and when. I also found that listening to the reading while also reading it helped me to remember what I was reading and, of course, shutting out the world so I could focus.
If you are struggling to remember what you have read, I encourage you to give each of these a try and see which helps you to achieve success.
I hope this helps.
Blessings,