Listening to the Bible allows you to be still in the presence of God‘s word. Check out this free audio Bible I love read by women!

Struggling to Really Listen

Sometimes in the rush of everyday, fitting in Bible study can be tricky. We don’t want it to become this way, but unfortunately it does. Even when we do find time to sit down and read our Bible, how much are we really soaking in what we read? Are we able to listen when our minds are going 100 mph?

I find that being still is a struggle when it comes to my daily Bible study. I do my best, but I’m human. Sometimes it’s rushed and other times it may be more of a checklist item. Other times, I read with an agenda, and feel disappointed if I don’t get something out of it.

A few years ago I wanted to read my Bible more, but many times it was in the morning where I felt too tired to focus and or just wanted to sip and enjoy my coffee first thing. I discovered that my Bible app would read selected text out loud, but I found myself spacing out listening to the voice of a monotone old man.

When I started searching for other voices that were more engaging, I was excited to find that there was one Bible read by James Earl Jones (who doesn’t love that comforting voice), but it cost money, and I was looking for something free to try. I also noticed in my search, that every result was a man’s voice.

Women in the Bible

When I did a search for women reading the Bible, I discovered this free audio app called Courage for Life Bible. It was super simple and aesthetic (which is my bread and butter). Several different women from different ethnicities feature throughout the Bible readings. Their voices are so calm and soothing and I feel more connected to the words and stories than ever before.

Sometimes as women we feel unseen or unheard when it comes to the church. One thing I’ve discovered since completing my Bible printables, is that women are more included in the Bible than I realized before. Most of us have heard of Esther, Ruth and Mary, but when we learn about other women in the Bible, they are prostitutes, angry wives or nags. While the Bible does include these women, there are also women that traveled with Jesus helping in his ministry, and several instances of the word prophetess all throughout the text.

As a woman, hearing the Bible read by other women made me feel more connected to the characters I was learning about and felt valued as a woman in God’s eyes. I felt softened toward the trials these people were going through and comforted by God in ways I hadn’t noticed him showing up in their stories before. The words hadn’t changed, but my focus had, simply because of the voice I was hearing it from.

The Power of Gender-Specific Therapy

Think about when you go to a doctor or counselor, you may have a preference in whether you want to see a man or woman based on your comfort level or past life experiences. Hearing the Bible read by a woman was a similar experience to me. It made me feel seen by God. It reminded of his love for me as a woman, and not some afterthought in his plan.

When I researched how this app was created, I found that the original intent was to reach at-risk women. This included abused women or those in jail (many of whom had gone through their own traumatic events). They found that gender-specific therapy (women helping women or men helping men) had a greater impact on healing and recovery. This inspired their project of creating an audio Bible specifically for women.

Listen to this Free Audio Bible

This is not a man-bashing post by any means. I have men in my life that I adore who help and encourage me in my spiritual walk. I am so thankful for each of these men in my life. This is simply an acknowledgment of my value as a woman too in God’s eyes. He loves all of us and wants us to know we are all loved children by our creator. We are loved sons and daughters of the King!

If you’re interested in checking out this free app (which I’m not being paid to promote, I just really enjoyed it!), then click here to download it.

This was especially fun to listen to with my daughter on the way to school or simply while I was cleaning the house with headphones on. I am excited to see that they are in the process of recording a Spanish version as well!

I hope it encourages you to get into the Word and in turn learn more about the God who loves you dearly as sons and daughters!

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For more ideas like this, make sure to visit my faves page where I share all of my favorite Bible study resources!

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You’ve got this!