I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11 NIV)

“Your screen time was up 41% last week, for an average of 3 hours, 15 minutes a day.” For iPhone users with the screen time feature turned on, this is the type of notification you may see if you’ve exceeded your usage from the previous week. When this happens, I wonder what goes through your mind? Do you shrug it off, feel guilty, or resolve to do better?

We live in an age where phones keep track of how much time we spend scrolling through news headlines, social media feeds, and entertainment. Yet here’s a sobering question: if there was a notification about our Scripture time, what would it show? Psalm 1:2 reminds us that the righteous person’s “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” God’s Word provides nourishment and stability in a world filled with constant distractions. Just as screen time can shape our thoughts and emotions, time in Scripture shapes our hearts and anchors us in the truth.

Joshua 1:8 (NIV) instructs us to “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” God links success and strength not to endless information from the world, but to consistent meditation on His Word. Jesus himself modeled this priority. In Matthew 4:4 (NIV), he declared, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Later, he prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17 NIV). Scripture doesn’t just inform us – it transforms us.

It's not that our devices are inherently bad; they connect us, inform us, and often entertain us. But too much time on them can leave us spiritually malnourished if we’re not intentional about balancing them with God’s Word. Romans 10:17 reminds us that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

So, this week, when that screen time notification pops up, let it serve as a reminder. What if you set aside even a fraction of that time for Scripture reading, prayer, and reflection? Imagine how your spiritual ‘average’ would grow.

If your phone recorded your Scripture time, what could your notification say today?

By George Donkor

George and his wife, Christiana, are proud parents of Annajoy and Elijah. They love serving Jesus together and showing Him to the world around them.