How much do you read the Bible?

Probably the most commonly talked about spiritual discipline in the Church is Bible reading. Every Christian realizes that they should be reading the Bible every day and, in my experience, most Christians don't believe they are reading the Bible enough, even if they are reading every day. So, what should be done about it?
For starters, we have to connect the idea that Bible reading should be done, to the results promised in the word of God. Why should we read the Bible? Let's take a look.

2 Timothy 3:16, 17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Psalm 1:1, 2
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

So we see that the word of God is useful for training in righteousness and enables us to be complete, that it sanctifies us when we read it and that it is a blessing when we delight in it. Many other scriptures could be offered, but they all pretty much fall in the categories presented in the above verses. I think most people reading this are on board so far. They see the need to read the Bible and read it more. They see the truth in the verses presented about how the word can shape our life. How do we turn that knowledge into action so that we can actually reap the benefits of consistently reading God's word?
I think the answer is screen time. This used to be just TV time, but now with the advances in technology and the pervasiveness of the use of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and other social media as well as just plain old surfing the Internet, researchers call this screen time. When considering the time we spend in front of screens, there is ample time to read more of the Bible daily. Tape recorded versions of the Bible have proven that you can read through the Bible in 71 hours, so strap in and get busy. Just kidding. That is a stark number though; what does it mean? "The average person in the United States watches that much television [71 hours] in less than two weeks." (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney, page 29) That is about 5 hours a day for two weeks on average. The book I am quoting from was written in 1991. How much has that increased since then? The Nielsen report from the 4th quarter of 2014 reports that electronic media time per day for the average US citizen was 11 hours. When you remove the radio time, that's about 8 hours a day in front of screens. (2) That would be 112 hours in two weeks. You could read the Bible 1.5 times through in that period.
Now, I am not suggesting that anyone give up TV (and their entire life!) to sit around and read the Bible cover to cover every two weeks. But, if we crunch some of these numbers we can turn this into useful data. Let's start big.

1. If, instead of 8 hours screen time, you spent the 8 hours reading the Bible, what would you end up with? You could read through the Bible every 9 days. That would be 40 times through in 1 year.

2. How about 7 hours reading the Bible? Completed every 10 days. 36 times per year.

3. 6 hours? Every 12 days. 30 times per year.

4. 5 hours? Every 14 days. 26 times per year.

5. 4 hours? Every 18 days. 20 times per year.

6. 3 hours? Every 24 days. 15 times per year.

7. 2 hours? Every 36 days. 11 times per year.

8. 1 hour? Every 71 days. 5 times per year.

Most of these numbers seem pretty ridiculous. I doubt many people could truly read for 4-8 hours a day. But, I bet there are some people that could read for 2-3 hours and I would guarantee that almost everyone in the Church could read for 1 hour a day. How would you like to read through the Bible 5 times per year? How do you think that would change you over the course of a year if you were constantly allowing God's word to wash over you intellectually and spiritually day in and day out like the ebb and flow of the ocean tides? I dare say you would be a radically different person that looked and thought more like Jesus Christ. If you are a disciple of the Lord, don't you want that?
I want to finish by offering you more practical information. Below is a list of times for reading each book of the Bible. These are averages, so you may be a little faster or slower, but it will give you a general idea. This can help you to plan your reading time. For instance, it takes 3.5 hours to read Genesis. There are 50 chapters in the book. You could split that into 4, hour-long sessions (4 days). That means you should read 13, 13, 12, and 12 chapters on those days. Using numbers like this may seem to take all the emotional spontaneity out of reading the Bible, but, it allows you to stay on track and be disciplined in your spiritual life which the apostle Paul compares to running a race in order to win. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Just as Paul says he does not run aimlessly, neither do professional runners. They plan their training and race strategy and they execute it to the best of their ability. You can do the same with reading the Bible if you will commit to a disciplined life of daily Bible intake.

Book	Time		Book	Time
Genesis	3.5h		Matthew	2.5h
Exodus	3h		Mark	1.5h
Leviticus	2h		Luke	1.5h
Numbers	3h		John	2h
Deuteronomy	2.5h		Acts	2.25h
Joshua	1.75h		Romans	1h
Judges	1.75h		1 Corinthians	1h
Ruth	15m		2 Corinthians	40m
1-2 Samuel	4h		Galatians	20m
1-2 Kings	4.25h		Ephesians	20m
1-2 Chronicles	4.5h		Philippians	14m
Ezra	40m		Colossians	13m
Nehemiah	1h		1 Thessalonians	12m
Esther	30m		2 Thessalonians	7m
Job	1.75h		1 Timothy	16m
Psalms	5h		2 Timothy	11m
Proverbs	1.75h		Titus	7m
Ecclesiastes	30m		Philemon	3m
Song of Songs	20m		Hebrews	45m
Isaiah	3.75h		James	16m
Jeremiah	4h		1 Peter	16m
Lamentations	20m		2 Peter	10m
Ezekiel	3.75h		1 John	16m
Daniel	1.25h		2 John	2m
Hosea	30m		3 John	2m
Joel	12m		Jude	4m
Amos	25m		Revelation	1.25h
Obadiah	4m
Jonah	8m
Micah	20m
Nahum	8m
Habakkuk	9m
Zephaniah	10m
Haggai	7m
Zechariah	40m
Malachi	11m