Some Devotionals is Better Than None

          Right now, I’m reading through a devotional book. It’s a year-long devotional book that has date-by-date pages of a Scriptural passage and an applicable theme. I am in the habit of its daily reading and prayer before I start each morning in the office or a vacation day. 

          Is this devotional book overtly scholarly and insightful? Is it teaching me, a pastor and a seminary grad, new things? Not particularly. But that’s okay. Good, in fact.

          People who study God’s Word for an academic or vocational requirement have to, subsequently, withstand the temptation to abandon their devotional time, figuring that they’ve met a quota of biblical study and thoughts about God (and then they don’t touch the Bible or pray during vacations). This is something I was warned about before I went to college. I sometimes struggled to “check my intentions” before reading the Bible, making sure I’m not reading to help increase my GPA, justify a petty argument with a fellow Christian, or improve my resume. Nowadays, I read Christian magazines for a scholarly and balanced interpretation of current events, and I read and write reviews on Christian books. This helps further educate and inform me in ministry, but it’s not meant to replace a daily time of prayer and a contemplation of God’s Word.

          Then came another hurdle: my pickiness. I wanted to find a book “just right for me” or “at my level,” or I was tempted to read through a book for the more selfish reasons I described above. This is arguable arrogance on my part, as if, in my broken humanity, I couldn’t possibly forget any of the wisdom and discipleship learned in previous devotionals and experiences. (Often it takes repetition to get biblical advice into my head).

          So, here’s my encouragement to you. Start having a daily time with God, with prayer and reading of the Bible or a Bible-based devotional book. And don’t overcommit and set yourself up to quit later. Even if it starts as a half-hearted (but committed) habit, it can get to the point where you’re so happy you brought each day before God. The Christian folk singer/author Michael Card once said (paraphrased), “A short, inarticulate and incomplete prayer is better than no prayer at all. Reading one verse out of the Bible is better than leaving the Bible unopened.”

          Don’t go it alone. And definitely don’t take too long, like I did, to learn the significance of regular prayer and devotionals.