Jumpstart Your Personal Time

I've employed various goals in years past when it came to daily devotions. I want to share a few of those goals that worked for me when it came to setting a spiritual rhythm. While there’s something to be said for sticking to a routine, I like to shake it up a little bit!

1. Read the Bible cover to cover in thirty days. It will change your life. I like to do this with a Bible that has no highlights or annotations because I find my heart landing in places that are uncommon to in notated texts.

2. Read the same book of the Bible every day for a week. I've done this a lot with books like Ephesians, Romans, and Colossians.

3. I used to abhor books of prayer. Right now I read Valley of Vision almost everyday. It is a collection of old Puritan prayers.

4. Pray Scripture. For example, the first two-thirds of Psalm 23 could go something like this: "Lord, I'm thankful you are my shepherd. When you lead me to the green pasture and I'm in a season of refreshing, teach me to lie down and enjoy it. As my Shepherd, when you lead me to the valley of the shadow of death, I will still celebrate as if I am in the green pasture. May my eyes be on you and the table you prepared rather than on my enemies."

5. Fasting for a meal, a day, or even a week can open your eyes to what the Spirit sees. I go through seasons when I choose to fast all day long just to gain a deeper understanding of the Spirit.

6. Find a rhythm that works for the season God has you in, and don't compare yourself to others. Learn from others, but don't feel as if you are less spiritual if you read a few verses in a day versus an entire book of the Bible. We need to be diligent to guard our hearts while avoiding the trappings of being a professional radical. Tradition is beneficial, but changing it up is valuable too. The key is having a heart postured toward His face.