Once we intend to become saturated in the Word, where do we turn? In bygone centuries this was an easy question. You went to church. There were no written manuscripts of the Bible available; anyway, chances were you couldn’t read. So communities gathered to hear the Word presented in the liturgy—weekly, or even daily.
They had a certain advantage—there was nothing else to hear. They did not have cell phones buzzing, newspapers proclaiming current events, televisions blaring advertisements. Mostly they had quiet. So the Bible was the only word they had to consider.
But we have a certain advantage—the words of Scripture are readily available to us, in a multitude of translations and presentations. We can pull up passages on our phones, listen to recordings, read in the most comfortable language.
The work comes in choosing to listen, every day—and really listen. This requires a plan, for unlike our forebears we have plenty of media demanding our attention. To give undivided, quiet attention to the Word takes a certain amount of effort—but not strain. Strain, in fact, is exactly what we must avoid.
The particulars will vary from person to person, but in general we will each need to consider a few factors: time, place, pace, and margin.
