“There are a lot of ways to do devotions. It is not a one size fits all practice. Don’t worry about finding the perfect form of devotion. Think of it as an adventure or a treasure hunt or a journey. Just get started. Pick something and begin. If it doesn’t work well for you, quit with a clear conscious and try something else.”

I always knew that people of faith were supposed to have devotional time. When I joined the church, I sort of expected someone to tell me the “official” Christian devotional method. But no one did. It wasn’t covered in the new members’ class. And that was for me somewhat unsettling. I knew I should be doing something, but I couldn’t figure out what that something was.  I felt adrift, unsure of what I should be doing and a little worried I might be doing it wrong.

Of course if you browse in a bookstore or on line there are plenty of suggestions about what to do. Some authors are quite emphatic about what one ought to do. There are daily devotion books of every kind:for mothers, sons, couples, busy people, retired people, C.S. Lewis fans. There are books to help you with daily prayer. There are books to help you read the Bible in a year. The variety can be bewildering and overwhelming. It took me a long time to figure out what to do- years in fact.

After all those years of searching for the proper way to do devotions, today I want to share what I have learned. And here it is. In one short sentence.

There is no proper way to do devotions.

Or to put it more positively, there are a lot of ways to do devotions. It is not a one size fits all practice. Don’t worry about finding the perfect form of devotion. Think of it as an adventure or a treasure hunt or a journey. Just get started. Pick something and begin. If it doesn’t work well for you, quit with a clear conscious and try something else. There will be something that works for you- even if it takes you a while to find it.

Read More