Devotional Tips

So today I thought I’d share a couple of different things first is my personal devotional routine I hope you enjoy it. The 2nd is some tips to help you in your devotional times & the 3rd is a free printable you can use during your devotions. Keep reading to check it out.

So here are some tips to help you out with your devotional times.

1. Find a good translation

I find this extremely important & the reason is if you can’t understand what you’re reading you’re simply not going to get anything out of it & it may even turn you off from reading at all. Another tip is to stay away from paraphrases as your main reading diet. Paraphrases are good to maybe check out every once & awhile but they are terrible for deep study. Many times you lose the true language of the passage & it makes it a lot harder to study out. If you’re looking for a great study version I recommend the ESV. If you want just an everyday version that’s easy to read I recommend NLT it’s not a paraphrase but isn’t the best for deep study either. It’s just a good general version for reading.

2. Schedule a Time

I’m serious put your devotional time in your calendar. If you don’t have a set time to do your devotions it can be easy to fill up your day with a lot of other things & than before you know it it’s 11pm & you still haven’t spent time with God. Let’s get this out in the open you are not a better Christian if you do your devotions in the morning. Though I believe starting your day off in prayer is a good idea I understand that life can be busy & doing your devotions in the morning is not an option for some people. As long as you’re consistent & you set time aside for God that’s all that matters. For a long time I would do my devotions before I went to bed because the house was quiet & it just put me at peace before going to bed. Don’t put too much weight on the time & when you do it, just make sure you’re doing it.

3. Create a Devotional Space

Create a place where you can go & focus on your time with God. A place where there’ll be no distractions. I personally go into my room & like to sit on either my bed, at my desk, or in my reading chair behind a closed-door. If you have to announce to everyone in your house that you’re going to do your devotions so they know not to interrupt you, do it. If you have a place you consistently go to it helps you create a routine & you know when you get to that place it’s time to be serious & meet with God. I know some people do it at their kitchen table it doesn’t really matter where you do it as long as you can focus. It helps you be consistent when you have a set time & place.

4. Make a Prayer List

I used to have a really hard time when it came to praying, so earlier this year I created a prayer list. I keep it in my Bible & when it comes time to pray I can pull it out & pray for the different things I’ve written on the list. I find it helps me focus & keep my mind from wandering when it comes time to pray. You can add to it as much as you want, or keep it simple with just some prompts. However you decide to do it I find it really helpful to keep yourself focused when it comes to your prayer times.

5. Journal

A lot of people use the SOAP method when it comes to Bible journaling. If you don’t know what the SOAP method is it stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, & Prayer it’s a great tool to help you get more out of your Bible reading. Every person journals differently there’s no set way to do it. I think journaling is important because you can look back on the different things God has spoken to you through His Word & I really do find it helpful for getting more out of your Bible reading. My Mom tells me it’s always more important that you’re learning things when it comes to your Bible reading vs. how much you’re reading.

I have a freebie for you guys. It’s a weekly Devotional Journal I designed, you can use it in whatever way you like. You can print it for an A5 journal if you like. Just change the page size on your printer. Just click the image to download. I hope you enjoy it.