The Three Parts of Devotional Time

If you purchase a devotional book or choose to do a free one on-line, you will find that most devotionals have three main parts to them.  They may not call them the same thing, they may divide them into more than 3 parts, and they may be presented in the same order –but they should be there.  If you are using a Bible Reading Plan rather than a daily devotional, you may want to insert these three parts into your devotional time.  These 3 primary devotional parts include prayer, reading, and reflection.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 

and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Below are examples of the 3 parts of devotional time you should include daily.

Prayer & Praise Time

An important part of devotional tie is communing with God.  We typically do this through prayer, You can do this before you start your reading by praising him for his word and asking that he guide you to get his will from what you a will study today.  Or you may prefer to do so afterwards by thanking him for his guidance and asking that he help you understand as well as do what you have read.

Some devotionals help your prayer process by including a few lines of suggested prayer focusing on the study to get you started.  If you find it hard to pray/praise, consider starting with a song for the praise part.  This can help you say the words you find difficult to put together to tell God how you feel.  You can sing a chorus you learned in Church or sing-a-long with your favorite artist on a MP3 or CD player.  Singing, even off-key, is a wonderful way to praise God.  Then for the prayer request part, you can take questions or concepts you have written down during your study time and ask that he clarify them for you or help you apply them to your life. 

Reading Time

Whether you use a daily Bible reading plan or a devotional book/calendar, the focus should be on reading God’s word to learn more of Him.  Some devotionals may have two-part reading plans.  One part is the scriptures you are to read from God’s word.  The other is a commentary or story by a person to help you better understand or relate to the scripture.  The order these parts are displayed may be different, but the scriptures should be your primary focus when discussing what you read with God or others.

You need to read the scripture verses for yourself from a Bible version that you are most comfortable with.  Do not just rely on what may be in your devotional.  If you find a scripture in your devotional confusing, write it down so you can pray about it and/or discuss it with another who may be more knowable about God’s word.  Often reading a scripture by putting it in context with the others before and after can help make it more understandable too.  Another option is to read the same scripture in a different version of the Bible to put it into perspective for you.

Reflection & Writing Time

Write down your thoughts, inspirations, and questions.  Some devotionals provide a space for this purpose.  If the one you chose does not, get a notebook just for this purpose of journaling your experience.  If there is a scripture that speaks to you during the devotional time, write it out and reflect on it until it is replaced with a different scripture during another devotional time.  If you are a visual or artistic person, you may choose to draw a concept or vision you are given during this time.  Think of your reflection time as meditating on God’s word – He will reveal what he wants you to know! 

At a later date, you might find it inspiring and surprising to return to your journal/notebook and see what God has done for you and the lessons you have learned.  Writing and reflecting can make the daily readings and your time with God an even more rewarding journey.   Be sure to thank God for what he has shown you!

NOTES:

• Thanks to typo/spell-checker, I noticed while writing this post this interesting way that God was telling me something about reflection.  It can be re-written as “I reflect on” which means he wants you to consider it and make it personal.  Think about that when reading, writing, and reflecting on His Word!
• You can get a free downloadable journaling workbook in PDF from Lifeway bookstores here.