Estimated reading time: 11 minutes Keywords: start a devotional, read the bible, how to pray, spiritual boredom, spiritual discipline, hearing God.
Can we be honest? Sunday night at church, with the music playing and the atmosphere set, praying feels like the most natural thing in the world. You feel like you could spend hours talking to God.
But then Monday morning arrives. The alarm goes off, you’re sleepy, late for work or school, and looking at the Bible seems about as appealing as reading a medicine instruction manual in Greek. You try to pray, but your mind drifts to the grocery list, bills to pay, or an Instagram notification.
After five minutes, you give up and leave the house carrying a heavy backpack called Guilt. “I am a terrible Christian. I don’t love God enough. I will never be spiritual.”
If you identify with this, this text is your emancipation letter.
The problem isn’t that you don’t love God. The problem is that you were likely taught a “religious formula” that doesn’t work for real life. The Hearing Him Project exists to restore the frequency of your hearing, not to give you more boring chores. Let’s learn to transform “I have to do it” into “I want to do it.”
1. The Myth of the “Holy Hour” (Deconstructing the Super-Christian)
The greatest enemy of consistency is idealism. You just converted and decide: “Starting tomorrow, I will wake up at 4 AM, read 5 chapters, and pray for 1 hour on my knees on corn kernels.”
The result? You do this for two days. On the third, you oversleep. On the fourth, you quit everything because you “failed.”
God is not impressed by your heroic performance; He is interested in your constant presence. It is better to read 1 verse and talk to Him for 5 minutes every day than to try to be a monk once a month and spend the rest of the time away.
Golden Rule: Consistency beats intensity. Water cuts through rock not by force, but by frequency.
2. The Bible: Manual, Letter, or Mirror?
Why does reading the Bible make us sleepy? Because we often read it as a history book or a rulebook (“do this” vs. “don’t do that”).
To overcome boredom, change your approach. The Bible is God speaking. When you read, don’t think: “I need to read three chapters to hit my goal.” Think: “I will read until I hear His voice.”
Where NOT to Start
If you are new to the faith, please do not start with Genesis (you will get stuck when you reach the laws in Leviticus and Numbers) nor Revelation (you will get confused and scared).
The Suggested Menu
- To know Jesus: Gospel of John or Mark.
- To learn to pray: Psalms (read a Psalm and pray the same words back to God).
- For practical wisdom: Proverbs (one chapter a day).
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) A lamp for feet illuminates only the next step. The Bible is not a spotlight showing the next 10 years; it is the light for today’s decision.
3. Prayer: Stop Making Speeches
Many people find prayer boring because they are “acting” for God. They change their voice, use difficult words (“Oh Thou who dwellest”), and repeat canned phrases. This is not a relationship; it is theater.
Jesus criticized this:
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases… for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)
If God already knows, why pray? For the connection. Imagine coming home and speaking to your spouse or parent formally, reading a report. It would be weird, right? God wants your raw honesty.
- Are you angry? Tell Him (read Psalm 109, David did that).
- Are you bored? Say: “Lord, I find reading boring today, help me.”
- Are you afraid? Speak it.
The most powerful prayer is the one that comes from the heart, not the one that sounds pretty from the mouth.
4. The Secret of the “Secret Place”
In Matthew 6:6, Jesus says to go into your room and shut the door. This is vital. In today’s world, distraction is the new devil. You cannot hear God if TikTok is open or the TV is on.
Create a simple “sanctuary.” It could be a chair on the porch, your parked car before walking into work, or the corner of your bedroom. The brain learns by association. If you always sit in the same place to talk to God, over time, your brain will switch into “prayer mode” as soon as you sit there.
5. What to Do on “Dry Days”?
There will be days when you read and feel nothing. You will pray, and it will seem like you are talking to the ceiling. The new convert thinks: “God has abandoned me.” The mature Christian thinks: “Today is a day to grow in faithfulness, not in feelings.”
We don’t eat only when we are extremely hungry; we eat to stay alive. We don’t shower only when we feel dirty; we shower for hygiene. Bible reading on dry days cleanses your mind, even if you don’t feel “goosebumps.” God’s Word never returns empty (Isaiah 55:11). It is working in your subconscious, changing your values, even when you don’t realize it.
6. A Practical 15-Minute Roadmap (To Start Today)
Seem hard? Let’s simplify. Use this script tomorrow morning. You only need 15 minutes.
- Silence (2 min): Turn off the phone. Breathe deeply. Calm your mind. Say: “God, I am here.”
- Gratitude (3 min): Before asking, thank. List 3 specific things that happened yesterday for which you are grateful. This changes your brain’s frequency.
- Reading (5 min): Read a small passage (e.g., 10 verses of John). Read slowly. If a phrase catches your attention, stop there.
- Reactive Prayer (5 min): Talk to God about what you read and about your day. “Lord, I read here that I should love my neighbor, but that coworker is difficult. Give me patience today.”
Done. You have fed your spirit.
Conclusion: It’s About Hunger, Not Rules
No one needs to force you to eat your favorite meal. When you discover the “flavor” of God, discipline stops being a burden and becomes a necessity.
The Hearing Him project wants to take you to that place: where hearing His voice is the best part of your day, not a boring chore. Do not wait for the desire to come before you start. Start, and the desire will come along the way.
Start small. But start today.
Hearing Him Org — Rediscovering the simplicity of walking with God in the garden.
Support Links (CTA)
Need help structuring this beginning? Our “First Steps” guides have simple scripts and direct explanations so you don’t get lost:
Postagens/Posts/Publicaciones
- “Is It God or Is It Just My Head?” The Ultimate Guide to Stop Guessing and Start Discerning
- “Show Me Your Glory”: The Mystery of the Cleft of the Rock and the Safe Place in Jesus
- Anxiety and Faith: Is it a sin to take medication or go to therapy? What the Bible really says
- Celestial Breaking News: “New Year” Doesn’t Exist in the Bible? A Deep Investigation into the Theology of New Beginnings
- Celestial Breaking News: The Day Heaven Invaded Earth (The True Story of Christmas You Never Heard)
- Christmas Investigation: Does the Bible Reveal the Exact Day Jesus Was Born? (The Mystery of Tabernacles)
- Church or Cult? The Ultimate Biblical Guide for the New Convert to Find a Safe Spiritual Home
- First Steps with Jesus: A Biblical Guide to Start Your Journey of Faith
- From the Pit to the Palace: When God’s Presence Feels Like Absolute Silence
- I Converted, But I Sinned Again: The Liberating Truth About Your Internal Struggle
- I Find Reading the Bible and Praying Boring: How to Overcome Spiritual Boredom and Build Consistency
- Real Life #1: “How to Share Jesus with My Family Without Starting World War III” — The Ultimate Guide to Home Evangelism
- Real Life #2: “Do I Really Need to Get Baptized? What Really Happens in the Water” — The Ultimate Guide to the Public Wedding with Christ
- Real Life #3: “Did God Call Me? How to Discover My Purpose Without Becoming a Pastor” — Ending the Sacred-Secular Divide
- Real Life #4: “Christian Dating vs. Hookup Culture: The Survival Manual for Singles” — Purity, Purpose, and the Physics of Being Unequally Yoked
- Real Life #5: “Tithes and Offerings: Is God Broke or Am I Greedy?” — Money as a Spiritual Thermometer
- Silence in Chaos: Why Having Faith Doesn’t Make You Immune to Anxiety (And How to Find Real Peace)
- Silence is Not Absence: A Deep Guide to Resetting Your Frequency and Finding the Overflow of Purpose
- Spiritual Detox #1: “I Accepted Jesus, Now My Problems Will End” — The Big Lie and the True Promise
- Spiritual Detox #2: “Do I Have to Cut Off Non-Christian Friends?” — The Definitive Guide to the “Holy Bubble”
- Spiritual Detox #3: “Christians Don’t Get Depressed?” — Breaking the Mental Health Taboo in the Church
- Spiritual Detox #4: “Can the Devil Read My Thoughts?” — The End of Paranoia and True Spiritual Authority
- Spiritual Detox #5: “I Don’t Feel God, So He’s Not Listening” — The Danger of Goosebump-Based Faith
- Spiritual Detox #6: “If I Sin, Does God Walk Away and Stop Loving Me?” — The Survival Guide for the “Spiritual Hangover”
- Spiritual Detox #7: “Do I Have to Become a Boring Christian?” — The End of the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ List and True Holiness
- Start Here: 7 Days to Hear God (Reading John)
- The Anatomy of a Heart: Why Did God Love Such an Imperfect Man So Much?
- The Art of Abiding: Prayer, Discipleship, and the Secret of Consistency
- The Crimson Mystery: The Theology, Legality, and Power of “Pleading the Blood”
- The Eternity Code: Forensic Evidence That the Bible Is the Word of God
- The Final Metanoia: What It Really Means to Have the Mind of Christ
- The Great Discovery of December 31st: The End of Waiting (The Kingdom is Now)
- The Great Plan: The Architecture of Rescue (When the Fall Meets Grace)
- The Great Plan: Understanding the “Exchange” That Changes Everything
- The Incomparable #1: “The Terrorist of Tarsus: How God Turns His Worst Enemy Into His Greatest General”
- The Incomparable #10: The Last Breath — The Death of the Servant vs. The Death of the Atheist (Final Special)
- The Incomparable #2: “The Arabian Desert: Why Does God ‘Hide’ Those He Plans to Use?” — The Secret Power of Anonymity
- The Incomparable #3: The Fight with Barnabas and the Cost of Leadership
- The Incomparable #4: When Heaven Says “No” (The Frequency of the Spirit)
- The Incomparable #5: The Overflow — When the Gospel Faces Culture (Paul in Athens)
- The Incomparable #6: Silence in Chaos — The Theology of the Shipwreck (Paul in Acts 27)
- The Iron Mask: Why We Feel Like a Fraud and How to Cure Spiritual Imposter Syndrome
- The Logic of Blood: Why was Jesus’ death the only solution?
- The Mirror: The Death of the Slave, The Birth of the Son
- The Orphan Syndrome: Why Do You Keep Acting Like a Slave When You Already Have the House Keys?
- The Prince, The Shepherd, and The Deliverer: When the Desert Is the Only School
- The Prison of Resentment: How to forgive someone who never said “I’m sorry”
- The School of Prayer: How to Learn to Speak the Language of Heaven
- The Sound of Silence: What God Was Doing When He Stopped Speaking
- The Upside-Down Kingdom: Why Jesus’ Logic Offends Our Human Logic
- Tongues of Fire or Strange Fire? The Gift of Tongues, Paul, and the Ghost of Montanism
- When Heaven is Silent: A Survival Guide for the “Dark Night of the Soul”