How I Spend My Devotional Time

Over the past few years, I’ve tried various types of morning devotionals. I’ve tried using a daily devotional, like Jesus Calling. I liked it, but it didn’t follow any kind of theme or specific area of study, so I didn’t stay with it for long. I’ve also tried using actual Bible study guides. My mom and I did a Beth Moore study last summer and it was fun to go through that with her. But I have a hard time sticking to a strict Bible study schedule and so I don’t usually stay with them for long.

Two years ago, I started keeping a prayer and Bible journal. This worked really well for me. I bought a blank, spiral bound, hard sided notebook from Barnes and Noble and every time I had my devotional time, I would keep sort of a Bible diary, I guess. Out of all the devotional practices I’ve used, this one was the most intense for me and I found the most growth here because I was truly studying the word.

During quarantine, I’ve found it hard to focus as intensely, though, and so I started looking around for something a little more structured, but not quite as deep.

And, as he often does, the Lord led me to Amazon… Hallelujah, Baby Jesus.

I found this simple, three-month prayer journal on Amazon for $6.99. I thought it was perfect because it was only a three-month period and it was cheap!

What I loved about this one was that it had general guides through your prayer time, but was also very open for me to write and explore as much as I wanted, too.

So, that gave me a place to journal, but I needed to get some kind of Bible plan or study so that I had a guide through chapters and books. For this, I went to Sweet Blessings, a blog I have followed on Instagram for over a year now. I love using her monthly write the word scripture collections. I am a big believer in the importance of writing scripture out as you pray over it because it helps you focus (I used to have my students write out notes even though I was a digital teacher for the same reason – it’s a great processing tool).

Once I read my scripture for the day, I start recording it in my prayer journal. If I want to dig deeper into a particular set of verses, I also use the Logos Bible App. It has a lot of functions, but the one I use is the verse search. You can search by Bible verse and it will give you historical context, related passages, definitions, or help guide you towards deeper meanings. For example, the word “hospitality” came up in one of my verses this month and when I looked up the verse, it explained the hospitality in Biblical times meant something very different than it does today, and that really deepened my connection with the verse.

Once I’ve dug into the scripture and spent some time with it, I start filling in my prayer journal and this is where my creativity gets a chance to play. I use this a bunch of stickers from Michael’s that are originally for planners to decorate my pages.

I also have a bag full of pens, pencils, markers, and Crayola Twistables that I use to emphasis important things as I journal.

Adding this extra time for artistic (if it’s even considered artistic?) time in my prayer journal gives me a chance to sit with the scripture verses and pray over them. As I doodle and decorate and just generally dilly-dally around, I’m praying and sometimes I listen to worship music and sometimes I listen to a sermon online and sometimes I reflect over what I’ve read. Basically, I DWELL in my Bible time.

I tried to find a sample page to use that wasn’t too personal and so this one isn’t really as decorated as some of my others, but it was a page I was comfortable sharing. You get the idea, though.

I usually spend about a half hour or so in my Bible time. And since quarantine has started, I’ve been doing it around midmorning, once I’m up and ready for the day and have finished checking my email and handling work things. I stop and spend some time doing this before I shift back into work mode and it’s a lovely break in my morning.

There is no right way to study the Bible. I’ve been reading and studying my faith for almost 30 years now and I’ve tried all the ways – alllll of them. Some make sense for a season in my life, some just never feel comfortable, and others bring me closer to God every time I sit with them. So, wherever you are in your faith – a daily devotional or a “I know where Genesis and Revelations are…” there’s a way to study the Bible that is meant just for you. 🙂