Personal Devotion
INTRODUCTION
One of the most important disciplines for growth in Christlikeness and Godliness is spending personal time with the Lord. At Christ Covenant, personal devotion is one of our covenantal agreements because we believe it is essential for the life of a disciple. Throughout Christian history, the church has held to the idea of abiding with—or being intentional to stay connected to—the Lord. On the night He was betrayed and arrested, Jesus told His disciples, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5). Jesus teaches here that if you want a fruitful Christian life marked by the fruit of the Spirit, then you must seek to be a branch that is connected to the Vine; you must seek to be a Christian that is connected to Christ.
In light of this, we encourage every member to create space in their life for personal devotion. As one who abides in Christ, this should be a priority, which means spending at least 10–15 minutes alone with the Lord several times a week, and ideally daily. We hope that as you make this a discipline in your life, the time will grow longer, but the most important aspect of personal devotion is consistency.
You may be asking, How do I get started? What am I supposed to do? This field guide answers those questions by giving you practical steps to take to develop the discipline of personal devotion.
PRACTICAL STEPS
1. Choose a time
The first step to having an effective personal devotion is choosing a consistent time that works for you. For some, this is in the evening before bed, and for others, it’s at some point in the middle of the day (during a lunch break, etc.). However, the most typical time for personal devotion is in the morning. This appears to have been Jesus’ practice, as we are told He woke early in the morning while it was still dark to go and pray (Mark 1:35). But the psalmist speaks of meditating on God in the watches of the night (Ps. 63:6), so personal devotion certainly does not have to be restricted to the morning. The most important thing is choosing a time when you can be consistent.
2. Choose a place
Choosing a consistent place is another important step in developing the discipline of personal devotion. If you have a place where you consistently seek and meet with the Lord, that space will begin to develop a certain gravity. Coming into that familiar place will help you quickly focus and make the most of your time. Daniel, for example, goes to an upper chamber next to a window open toward Jerusalem three times a day to pray (Dan. 6:10). Your place should be somewhere that’s quiet and free from distractions where you can be alone. In Scripture we see Jesus go to “a desolate place” (Mark 1:35), and elsewhere it says He goes up on a mountain by Himself to pray (Matt. 14:23). We recommend having your personal devotion at a desk, sitting up in a chair, or even while walking. This will keep you alert and engaged in your study of God’s Word and prayer.
3. Choose a Scripture reading plan
In keeping with the theme of consistency, it’s important that you choose a consistent Scripture reading plan. You don’t want to spend time every day trying to find a passage to read, and you want your Bible intake to be robust and orderly—robust in that it involves reading through the whole Bible and orderly in that you have a plan for how much Scripture you read each day. Of course, the Lord could redirect your plans and you could end up reading more, or you could end up spending the entire time meditating on one verse. However, we all do well to have a plan. Devotionals are another great resource that many Christians enjoy. The key to success with devotionals is to make sure that you use a devotional that is full of the Scriptures.
4. Use a plan for your prayer time
One of the things that we often talk about at Christ Covenant is praying through Scripture. This one simple tool can help your prayer life come alive. It can transform a person who struggles to pray for more than a minute or two into a person who enjoys extended periods of God-centered prayer.
How to pray through Scripture
Read a verse of Scripture, use the words to guide your prayers, and once you can’t think of anything else to pray, continue to the next verse and so on, letting the words that God inspired in His Holy Bible guide the words that you are praying back to Him. The Psalms, Jesus’ prayer in John 17, and Paul’s prayers (Rom. 15:5–6, 13; Eph. 1:15–23; 3:14–21; Phil. 1:9–11; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; 2 Thess. 1:3–12; Philem. 4–7) are great resources for getting started with this since they are already prayers, but any passage of Scripture can inspire prayer. (For more, see the appendix on Praying Through Scripture.)
Christians have also followed a basic fourfold approach to prayer for centuries: Praise, Thanksgiving, Confession, and Supplication.
Praise is the act of meditating on the goodness and glory of God and expressing gladness to Him.
Thanksgiving is the act of thanking God for the particular goodness that He has shown in your life.
Confession is the act of confessing particular sins before the Lord as you repent of those sins.
Supplication is the act of asking the Lord for His blessing, care, and guidance.
Combining the Praise, Thanksgiving, Confession, and Supplication method with praying through Scripture is a great way to energize and bring consistency to your prayer life.
Other things to consider are prayer walking, using a prayer journal, or using a prayer board with written prayer items.
5. Consider journaling
Journaling is a tool that Christians have often used in personal devotion. Journaling is not a biblical discipline, but it’s a very practical idea that will help you do at least three important things. First, use a journal to keep track of your prayers. A record of things you are praying about is a helpful tool for looking back on how the Lord has answered those prayers. Second, use a journal to express your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Sometimes it’s hard to pray or even put things into words, so the act of writing something out can be helpful and healing in the journey of seeking to understand your own soul. Third, use a journal to stay focused. A journal is a great tool to keep you focused on your prayers and can help you meditate on and memorize Scripture. For instance, suppose that during your devotion time a to-do list item for the day pops into your head. Having a way to simply jot it down can alleviate a distraction and help you to refocus on the Lord.
6. Create goals and seek accountability
Creating goals can motivate you in your journey of developing the discipline of personal devotion. Here are a couple of examples:
What sin do you want to be killing in your life?
What fruit of the Spirit do you want to see more clearly?
Writing down goals like this and making them a point of prayer can be powerful as you work your way through Scripture, seeking to discern how the truth of Scripture applies to your written goals. It’s also helpful and good to find a trusted friend and share these goals with them. Invite them to ask you regularly about your consistency in personal devotion and the goals that you are working to achieve. Accountability is a great tool for this discipline and any discipline.
7. Be flexible
If you decide that a plan isn’t working well for you, try another plan. If you have been using a plan for a while and it’s getting a little stale, feel free to try something new. The key is consistently creating space to meet with the Lord; however, this does not mean that you always do the same thing. That being said, it’s important to remember that your personal devotion will likely not be a perpetual mountaintop experience. The value of a regular time of personal devotion is the small and consistent gains you make over a long period of time.
Our hope is that this field guide is helpful in getting you started down the path of having a consistent and meaningful time of personal devotion.
If you have any questions about personal devotion, please reach out to your parish elder or a member of our pastoral staff.
RECOMMENDED DEVOTIONALS
New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Through the Bible Through the Year by John Stott
Voices from the Past by Richard Rushing
Walking with God Day by Day by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
For the Love of God (Volume 1 & Volume 2) by D. A. Carson
The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions compiled by Arthur Bennett
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey by Jerry Bridges
Be Thou My Vision by Jonathan Gibson
Psalms By The Day by Alec Motyer
