You Can Listen to the Bible (and Finish It in a Year) with Audio Bibles

~ by Laurie McClure, editor of FaithGateway

Do you feel like you don’t have enough time to read the Bible? Are you hung up by less modern translations and find it too difficult to understand the Bible? Or maybe reading the entire Bible from start to finish feels a little boring, and you just can’t make it past Exodus? I get it!

There’s a great solution for all those reasons not to read the Bible – listening to an audio Bible!

Long before anyone had a Bible of their own, people listened to Holy Scripture being read aloud to them. Before the last century, the average person didn’t read so communities shared their news, history, stories, and faith by word of mouth, around campfires, in fields and homes, shops and churches.

You and I are so blessed to have possibly even a dozen Bibles on our bookshelves and bedside tables, but crazily enough, we’ll still remain hungry, unfulfilled, and craving unless we’re actually consuming the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Owning the Book isn’t enough. We need to get it in us!

I am trying something new (to me) that I just have to tell you about. Every day after I drop my daughter, Evangeline, off at school, I play the audio Bible on the drive back home and take the long way (the prettier way because life is short and lovely views are important). Then, when I drive to pick her up, I listen again. That’s about forty minutes of Bible listening which, I’ve got to say, is way more than I’ve ever read daily in my whole life.

I’ve discovered that listening to Scripture is an entirely different experience than reading it. You know how sometimes when you’re reading a verse it pops off the page at you? It’s sort of like that. When you listen to the Bible, it hits you differently. Verses I’ve read over and over have caught my ears uniquely. I feel like I’m joining the generations of believers before me who heard the Word audibly and it’s a beautiful thing. I love it!

Other ways you can listen to your Bible: while working out, doing laundry, housekeeping and chores, running errands, or first thing in the morning while you’re getting ready for work or school.

The key to successfully getting through an entire audio Bible is finding a version that you understand well with a voice you enjoy.

I’m listening to The Message this year, but since starting, I’ve already found the audio Bible I want to listen to next...

• The David Suchet Audio Bible! Did you watch the wonderful TV show Poirot with British actor Suchet in the lead role? It was one of my favorites. David is fabulous as Hercule. Suchet became a Christian when he was forty and then made it a life goal to make an audio recording of the Bible. How cool is that?! I can’t wait to begin listening. He’s also the voice for The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, which is another awesome listen if you’re driving in the car with your kids! How cool is that?! I can’t wait to begin listening.

 

• Another one I cannot recommend highly enough is The Bible Experience Audio Bible — it’s like listening to the Bible as a movie. Read by some of your and my favorite artists and performers, this audio Bible packs a punch with powerful readings, beautiful music, and the glory of God. I mean, come on… Idris Elba, Tyler Perry, Samuel L. Jackson, Pauletta and Denzel Washington, just to name a few? Yes, please!

 

• Do you love the Man in Black? Then you will love this audio Bible! Johnny Cash Reading the New Testament Audio Bible in the NKJV is a wonderful version of Scripture. His beautiful voice, his lovely heart for the Word of God, and his deep love of lost souls pervades the reading. Johnny, “I wear the black for those who’ve never read or listened to the words that Jesus said.” 

• The Word of Promise Audio Bible NKJV – You’ll recognize the voices of Jim Caviezel (as Jesus), Richard Dreyfuss (as Moses), Gary Sinise (as David), Jason Alexander (as Joseph), Marisa Tomei (as Mary Magdalene), Jon Voight (as Abraham), Joan Allen (as Deborah), Marcia Gay Harden (as Esther), and more than 500 other actors.

 

• Kids Bibles are some of my favorite Bibles, especially for new believers (and me!). Like I mentioned above, The Jesus Storybook audio Bible read by David Suchet is incredible, and it’s all about Jesus. Sally Lloyd-Jones does a fantastic job sharing 21 stories from the Old Testament and 23 from the New Testament highlighting the centrality of Jesus in every story of our lives.

 

• Ladies, this one is for us! The Word Becomes Flesh Audio Bible is narrated entirely by women from Genesis to Revelation. Some of your favorite girls read the Word of God including Kathie Lee Gifford, Amy Grant, Natalie Grant, Jaci Velasquez, Stormie Omartian, Darlene Zschech, and many more. I’m buying this one for all my girlfriends this year!

 

Let me know what you think and which audio Bible you enjoy! I want to know!