I believe that the Bible is God's Word, and that he uses the Bible to speak to his people. He knew that as humans, it would be hard to hear his voice in this crazy loud world we live in. He needed to speak to use through the words on the page. The cool thing is that the Bible is both instructional, but also comforting and reveals who God is. Learning to read the Bible the right way can open these pathways to understanding ourselves and God better.
I think for most of my life I had the mindset that going to church was better than reading the Bible, because the pastor could explain and break things out of the Bible that I simply couldn't. What was the use of reading, when I could go to church and listen and have it all explained to me. Although this is partially true, we need to have an individual relationship with God and that comes through quiet times and Bible reading just with God.
Late in my college years, I finally learned how to read the Bible. I learned how to look at the text and beyond, to ask questions and to make observations about what you're reading or thinking as you read. First, not only is it more interesting, but I think God reveals so much to us when we do this. He speaks to us through His word and we draw closer to Him. When I moved to Germany I began an ambitious Bible reading plan, that I have failed at many times, but I keep trying. I started reading 10 different sections of the Bible, all throughout the New and Old testament. This appealed to me because I wanted to read the whole Bible, but I didn't want to read starting at Genesis and ending with Revelations. I've tried to do that before and it just gets boring. I love this plan because you read one chapter a day, from the 10 different books and it adds variety. I'll be honest, probably more days than not, I haven't read, but I just keep getting back on the horse and trying again. But reading beyond the text and asking questions makes it more fun and interesting. I don't have a specific formula for this, but I just try to be mindful of things as I am reading.
Here is a look at my journal as I was reading today: