This is from a very helpful article up on Challies.com.
I printed out the whole thing to talk about with the family over dinner.
It is filled with great advice on the Bible Study and particularly realistic about the times we don’t feel like it but know we should do it anyway.
Now I’d like to make a rather practical observation. A general desire to know and to study the Bible does not necessarily mean that we will always be overflowing with enthusiasm to do so. When we say that we desire to study the Bible we can mean two things. We can mean that we spring out of bed in the morning eager to rush to a comfortable chair and spend some time drinking in the Word of God. Though I think all Christians long to be like this, the sad fact is that very few are. The reason I am writing these words today is that I have felt little of this enthusiasm lately. I’ve found myself dreading times in the Word far more than I’ve eager anticipated them. And I hate this, I hate my lack of interest, my lack of passion and desire. And yet it seems to be where I am right now.
However, even if we do not have an overflowing passion of this nature, we can still desire to read the Bible in a less passionate (but no less sincere) way, knowing that the Word feeds us, that it tends to our souls, and that we would be remiss to ignore times of Bible study. Even on days when our hearts are not pounding with excitement as we turn to our Scripture reading, we can still desire to read the Bible. We can do so out of some duty rather than full delight. In either case, we are right to turn to the Bible and to dedicate ourselves to reading and studying it.
My encouragement is not to wait until your heart longs for nothing more than to study the Bible before you open the cover of the Book. Rather, commit today to beginning to take time every day to read it. Ask God to give you the discipline to do so.