Are you a new believer looking to deepen your faith? Or perhaps you’re a seasoned Christian woman seeking to reignite your spiritual journey? The book of Proverbs offers a lifetime of wisdom that can transform your life.
I’ve always heard that Proverbs is a great book of the Bible to read daily. Honestly, I didn’t see the real purpose of doing so. It seemed to me that there were other ways to grow closer to God with Bible reading; like reading from the gospels.
Recently, however, I decided to read this book of wisdom with a chapter a day for my daily practice of Bible reading. Guess what? I found this book to be more than helpful as a Christian woman who desires to grow in my relationship with God and His Word.
Why Read Proverbs?
Proverbs 1 tells us up front who wrote the book of Proverbs. The wisest man known, King Solomon writes to teach us these four things:
- To teach wisdom and discipline
- To help understand the insights of the wise.
- To live disciplined and successful lives
- To help us do what is right, just, and fair.
As Christian women, we know we should read the Bible to gain this wisdom and understanding, but it’s a discipline that seems easy to forget sometimes.
“Mama Dee, I don’t actually read my Bible every day…”
“That’s OK, sweetie. No one really does.”
– Conversation between me and my 8 year old friend
The Discipline of Reading the Bible
My daily discipline of Bible reading can get swept aside by many variables. As a mid-life woman, sleepless nights are inevitable. When I have restless nights, I find it hard to wake up early enough to read from my Bible. I might try, but my mind feels fuzzy and I lack concentration.
Other reasons affect our routines of daily Bible reading, like not being a morning person or having little ones in the house who wake us up during the night or way too early in the morning.
TIP: Bible reading can be done at any time of the day.
The habit of reading the Bible doesn’t have to be restricted to one certain time of day. So let yourself off the hook if you know mornings are not your time to read. The discipline of Bible reading comes with having a mind that is made up to read your Bible every day, no matter how much time or how many chapters.
While rituals and habits are better accomplished with repetitive actions to achieve the desired results, when it comes to Bible reading, don’t be focused on the “rules” of Bible reading. Just focus on the opportunity to draw closer to God and grow your relationship with Him.
Trust me when I say that God is not in a hurry or on a schedule that you will miss Him if you don’t show up for your Bible reading time. When we approach Him with a heart of delight to spend time in His word, it doesn’t matter the time of day or the chapter and verse we pick. The point is that you decide that your heart is set on seeking Him.
When you open your Bible, prayerfully ask God to lead you to know wisdom and knowledge, to teach you how to become a godly woman who honors Him, and rest in knowing that He hears us when we pray.
But where do I start?
Whether you are new to the Christian faith or a seasoned woman of God, this 31-chapter book of the Bible will enable you to grow in your journey with Jesus.
King Solomon’s passion was:
“to give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.” (Prov. 1:2)
Did you know God’s Word is the Only Source of True Wisdom?
A proverb is a saying or piece of advice for providing general truth.
Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
knowledge and discernment to the young.
Proverbs 1:2-4 NLT
God’s Word is the only source of true wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. When it comes to living the Christian life, we must come to His Word over and over if we want to grow in our faith.
Here are four reasons Christian women should make Proverbs a part of their daily Bible reading:
1- To learn wisdom and discipline.
Webster’s Dictionary tells us that wisdom is the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, good sense or judgment. Proverbs gives many insightful sayings to remind us to look for inner qualities, good sense, and sound judgment.
Proverbs 4:7 tells us we are to seek wisdom and pursue it “at all costs”.
As Christian women, the pursuit of wisdom requires discipline—a willingness to learn, be corrected, and grow. Proverbs challenge us to lean on God in difficulty, seek His insight, and cultivate a life that honors Him.
Wisdom seeks to learn and grow instead of staying stuck in sameness.
Proverbs 12:1 tells us to love discipline. Christian women may read the word discipline and think of punishment. But the word also means to be trained or to be developed by instruction.
Christian women seeking discipline through Bible study will find that God’s discipline is for our good and helps us understand how to grow in our Christian faith. Reading the book of Proverbs can help train us in our spiritual lives.
Proverbs 12:1 tells us to love discipline. Christian women may read the word discipline and think of punishment. But the word also means to be trained or to be developed by instruction.
Christian women seeking discipline through Bible study will find that God’s discipline is for our good and helps us understand how to grow in our Christian faith. Reading the book of Proverbs can help train us in our spiritual lives.
2- To learn how to understand the insights of the wise.
King Solomon’s words guide us toward understanding and discernment. As Christian women, we benefit from seeking the wisdom of those who have walked in faith longer than we have. Mentorship, both in real life and through scripture, is vital.
There are times, however, when our faith is too young to understand all we read in the Bible. The important thing is that we seek to learn from those who’ve been walking in as a Christian woman longer than we have. These women are our mentors.
Christian mentors don’t know everything, but I can assure you they have an abundance of knowledge and insight that can prove valuable to us as we learn and grow.
Speaking of Christian Mentors, when I was quite young, we would visit my great-grandmother, Grandma Lovelace, and her sister, Aunt Ila. They would sit on the porch breaking green beans from the garden and tell us about life from their point of view and they told hilarious stories!
They would break beans from the garden for Sunday dinner after they had pinned each other’s hair. They were a generation without many of the spa rituals we consume today, so my memory of them was their hair in pin curls, rocking in chairs.
They were both ready and prepared for whomever stopped by for Sunday dinner or a visit. They were funny, but they were also wise. Without even being aware, they were Christian mentors to me in my young life.
I can’t recall their specific stories, but I do remember how they would nod and declare they were each telling the truth about whatever had happened at the Winn-Dixie or the Doctor’s office that week.
There was an interesting story about a pair of pantyhose once. I don’t remember all the details about the story, but I do remember being in tears laughing so hard as they told about their adventures in hosiery.
I was too young to understand, but I enjoyed the moments and the memories of laughter and family visits on the porch.
SIDE NOTE: My personal opinion is that we all need to spend more time on the porch with our grandmothers.
These women in my family tree had no idea the legacy of faith, grace, hospitality, and humor they would leave us with, but they mentored us with the faithfulness of their lives all the same.
By observing their interactions with each other, extended family members, and the ones who gathered around their table, I learned Biblical principles like grace, hospitality, joy, love, and respect.
Oh, and I learned at Grandma’s house just how wonderful a hot buttered biscuit tastes!
3- To learn how to live a disciplined life that leads to success.
Ok, so here’s that word “discipline” again. Can I admit to you that I find discipline a hard thing? I’m not sure if it’s pride, stubbornness, or laziness.
But what I do know is when I have better routines, and stay on track with my systems and checklists, I feel more successful, more productive, and satisfied with accomplishments instead of agonizing over imperfections.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE BIBLE READING A DAILY DISCIPLINE
If I know this, what keeps me from living a disciplined life? Good questions. What I can tell you is that I need work in this area. Am I alone?
⬇️ For more scripture on spiritual discipline, here are some great scriptures.
1 Corinthians 9:27 –“ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I should be disqualified.”
Proverbs 12:1 – Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Hebrews 12:11 – For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
4- To learn how to live a life that is right, just, and fair.
The greatest commandment as described by Jesus is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mat 22:39)
The first part of the command is understandable. Certainly, we as Christian women desire to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But learning to love our neighbor as ourselves takes hard work sometimes.
The book of Proverbs provides many insightful and helpful ways. Reading the book of Proverbs as a Christian woman helps take the guesswork out of the “how” to love others as ourselves.
Here are two examples of verses in Proverbs that relate to friendships:
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
Reading Proverbs Helps Christian Women Grow Their Christian Faith
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7 NAS
We read Proverbs to pursue wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. We do this out of reverence for the Lord.
Can we agree that we all need wisdom to make it through the daily trials and troubles that life brings?
Whether single, married, or single again, each of us has the privilege to influence the lives of others as we learn what it means to respect and revere the Lord.
And I submit to you that no matter our age, or how many years we’ve been a Christian, King Solomon’s passion can become our pursuit “to give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.” (Prov. 1:2)
QUESTION:
Are you a Christian woman who desires to grow in your relationship with Jesus and wants to learn how to read and study the Bible?
Check out my FREE resources on BIBLE STUDY MADE EASY or SCRIPTURE MEMORY MADE EASY.