We as Christians know that we are supposed to read our Bibles, but it is often hard to know exactly how to do that. We feel overwhelmed, and we struggle to understand exactly how the characters and events from thousands of years ago apply to our daily lives. We tremble at the idea of having to devote an hour to study when we can barely fit in five minutes. 
But it doesn’t have to be this way! The Bible is God’s living Word. And God is willing to speak to us through His Word. Here are three practical tips to make our daily devotionals more fruitful and less stressful.
Tip #1: Understand the Purpose of Devotionals
Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” This verse outlines the practical reasons we read our Bibles: We read to meditate. We read to do. We read to be successful.
The first purpose of having a daily devotional is to meditate on God’s Word day and night. Meditation here means filling up the mind with God’s truth. But this doesn’t mean that we walk around all day with a Bible in our hand. A daily devotional is supposed to supply our mind with godly truth that we think about and chew on throughout the day.
This leads to the second purpose of doing. As we think about the truth of God throughout the day, we intentionally conform to that truth in our own lives. We look for thoughts, attitudes, or actions that we have that do not align with the truth. And we wrestle to bring them into submission to God’s Word.
Meditating leads to doing, and doing leads to spiritual prosperity. As we mold ourselves more and more to the Word of God, we grow in holiness and begin looking more and more like Christ. And as we grow in sanctification, we become successful. We are storing up treasures in heaven and living lives that are pleasing to God. This is greater than any kind of material gain. And it is what should drive our devotions every day!
Tip #2: Utilize the H.E.A.R. Method
But how exactly do we meditate on the Word of God? The goal of meditation is to help us remember what we read. Some people find it useful to draw a picture or to journal as they read. Others may sing a song or memorize a verse. But one particularly useful method is called the H.E.A.R. method: Highlight, Explain, Apply, Respond.
In order to use this strategy, we first need to decide what we are going to read. It is usually a good idea to choose one book of the Bible and work slowly through it one section a day. We read a section and then highlight one verse that stood out to us. This helps ensure that we are reading the surrounding verses to get the appropriate context.
After highlighting a verse, we explain what that verse means. This is a time for us to think about how the original audience would have understood this verse. We don’t read our own stories into the text, but we try to draw out its intended meaning. Then we summarize the verse in our own words to make sure that we really understand it.
Once we understand the original context and the original intent of the verse, it is time to draw out applications for our own lives. We may look for character traits of God we should imitate or sinful attitudes to avoid. We ask whether the text is descriptive of a certain time and place or prescriptive for every person everywhere. And we determine what this particular verse means for us today.
Finally, we enter into a time of response. We go to the Lord in prayer and thank Him for His Word. We ask Him to guide our minds throughout the day to bring His revealed truths to the forefront of our thoughts. And we pray for the Spirit to help us apply the verse as we go about our day.
Tip #3: Use a Commentary Alongside an Open Bible
The Bible is the only infallible book we have. It alone is the perfect Word of God. But what happens when we read it for the correct purpose, try to do proper interpretation of Scripture, and get to a verse that stumps us?
First, we don’t give up! Just because the Bible is sometimes hard to understand does not mean we should run away from it. Rather, it should make us study harder and dig deeper into the Word. And to aid us in our study, we should take advantage of the many commentaries available to us today.
We live in a time when we have access to gifted theological writers and the best scriptural explanations from people across generations who have dedicated their entire lives to studying God’s Word. We should take advantage of their insights and consider the applications they suggest. But we should always do so with an open Bible and with caution.
Not all resources are helpful. We must be careful to read theologically sound commentaries. There are many wolves who are dressed like sheep and eager to lead people astray. Half-truths are not truths, and they are dangerous to our spiritual walk with the Lord. It is good to read critical reviews about resources and to ask our pastors for advice before we allow certain commentaries into our devotional lives.
Commentaries are good because they help us develop a deeper understanding of God’s Word. But we must never let commentaries about Scripture replace Scripture. Devotional books, podcasts, commentaries, and sermons are good. Yet they are not divinely inspired but are fallible. And we should only use them to supplement our own reading of the Bible.