Personal Devotions

[buggy]

What do you typically do during your personal/family devotions? Care to share? To each his own

 

[LeeD]

Personal Devotions
1. Read from a devotional book or two (Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, Devotions from Jonathan Edwards, The Valley of Vision, etc)
2. Prayer
3. Bible reading (currently working through the New Testament (Mark), I am breaking it up into 8-10 chapters (ex. Matthew 1-10, Matthew 11-20, Matthew 21-28) and reading each set of chapters for 10 days straight. This has been a real help and blessing to me.)

(at times like through the gospels, I have been reading JC Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospels along with my bible reading)

Family Devotions - myself, wife, two daughters (ages 8 and 9)
1. Break a Ritz cracker (the brand of choice lately) and quote Acts 2:42
2. Sing the Doxology plus 1-2 more hymns (teaching children a new hymn every couple of weeks)
3. I pray, then children have opportunity to pray, and then my wife closes the prayer
4. Currently working through Spurgeon's Family Catechism (very similar to the Westminster, but much shorter)
5. Close the time with prayer

 

[4thmedbn]

1 Prayer over my devotion
2 An entry from Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ
3 A psalm (followed by prayer over that psalm, and my understanding and application)
4 Resume my reading of 1 Kings
5 Finish in prayer

 

[buggy]

For me it's:
- Listening to a Christian song (hymn or contemporary)
- Prayers
- Review of sermon or Sunday school contents OR reading from one psalm.

One pastor once said "Psalms is like Chinese medicine" - perfect balm for the soul! I agree with that.

 

[Mindaboo]

For me personally I read from whatever passage the pastor will be preaching on the next Sunday. Then I read from Isaiah and 2 Samuel, read from The Valley of Vision, then write in my prayer journal.

With the kids, we read a chapter of Exodus, work on Teaching Hearts, Training Minds, then memory verses and prayer.

 

[MRC]

I have been using M’Cheyne reading plan. It has help me know the Scriptures more holistically as it has me in 4 sections each day. A current area of work in my own life is engaging in more prayer time. For many Bible reading plans check this out: ESV BIBLE READING PLANS

I have a young family, 1 and 3 year old boys and wife. I plan on starting a daily devotion time with them this month, ordered material suitable for such ages and waiting for it to arrive (Beginning With God by the Good Book Company). Long term I plan on a daily family devotion time being in the Word, with a special catachism focused devotion on Sundays. I plan on gradually increasing the intensity of our family devotions over the years so that by the time they are in grade school and jr high we are spending significant time as a family studying the Bible and/or catachism daily.

 

[TexanRose]

Family worship (led by my brother): prayer, sing a psalm (singing straight through the Metrical Psalter four to six stanzas at a time), read a chapter of Scripture, prayer again. We do this morning and evening.

Personal devotions: prayer, re-read what we've been reading in family worship (currently Jeremiah, a.m. and Acts, p.m.) & ponder it a bit/look things up in commentaries if needed. Read a few pages of Thomas Goodwin. Prayer again. If I've overslept, I cut out the Thomas Goodwin. That happens more often than I'd like to admit. :S

With the kids, I do "Bible time" which consists of a Bible story (from Egermeier's Bible Story Book) for both boys (ages 5 and 3), then I work with the 5 year old on memorizing the Shorter Catechism, plus proof texts and other sections of Scripture.

 

[reformedminister]

1. Read a chapter in the Bible, followed by questions and brief discussion.
2. Recite the Apostles' Creed.
3. Prayer (I lead and everyone else has a turn), followed by the Lord's Prayer.
* Sometimes we may sing from the Book of Psalms for Singing or the Trinity Hymnal.

 

[CNJ]

Minimum I listen on my iPod to the Daily Audio Bible. This is the third year I have been doing this and so the third year in a row that I am going through the whole Bible--section for the OT, NT, Psalm, and Proverb each day. Brian Hardin chooses a different translation in week and that causes me to go to my Bible for further study. Often my non-iPod devotional is a Christian classic or Scripture from sermons or other studies.

My husband is less interested in devotions now, because of his dementia, but we do pray together remembering family and others in prayer. I miss the early days when we would use the TableTalk magazine together.

 

[Osage Bluestem]

Family devotion time sounds like a great idea. We should read some passages and pray together as a family. I'll talk to my wife about that. Currently we've been praying before supper together. But my wife doesn't read her bible very often, and we have only been teaching our 3 year old his memory verses assigned at church.

Personally, I like to read my bible through one book at a time, mark it off the list, and continue until finished, and then start again. Right now I'm in Jeremiah. I just finished Hebrews, Nahum, Habbakkuk last week. Hebrews took awhile. I've been skipping around. When I finish Jeremiah I'll probably do an epistle or something. I like to pray throughout the day, informally to God like I would talk with a friend.

 

[Micah]

I too was going to ask about this.

Right now I'm sloppy. I read the Bible and a theology book whenever I have time, listen to tons of sermons and read lots of articles when I'm on the computer, constantly learning. However, I don't have much structure or have a journal. I kind of feel like if I keep a journal, my beliefs will change, or it will be so much that I'll never go back to it anyways. There's just SO MUCH I could write.

I wanted to take categorical notes on every sermon and quotes from books and passage I read/listened to, but then there would be so much written that I could never read it all, and wouldn't know how to categorize it in case I wanted to go back. I'm just a little lost.

And also, I want to make a list of things to pray for, but that list would be endless too. Ahh! Help me out.

 

[chbrooking]

For those crying, "Help!":

My suggestion is that you don't start too grand. It is challenging enough to begin a new habit. I suggest that you start easy and manageable. Then, when setting aside the time and remembering is no longer an issue, you can add a little bit at a time. It took me a very long time, with many false starts, to establish a routine for my family. But keeping it brief and manageable (particularly with small kids) was a big help in effectively establishing the routine. You might start as simple as reading a short passage and praying.

Right now, we sometimes sing at the beginning or end -- usually the end, because my slow-eaters are still eating (or just picking at their food -- that's another story) at the beginning. We read a text, never longer than my kids can process. Then we discuss what it means and how it might be applied. I usually try to pull this out of my kids, rather than just telling them. Then we pray. It's not a grand production, but it works for my family.

 

[MRC]

For those crying, "Help!":

My suggestion is that you don't start too grand. It is challenging enough to begin a new habit. I suggest that you start easy and manageable. Then, when setting aside the time and remembering is no longer an issue, you can add a little bit at a time. It took me a very long time, with many false starts, to establish a routine for my family. But keeping it brief and manageable (particularly with small kids) was a big help in effectively establishing the routine. You might start as simple as reading a short passage and praying.

Right now, we sometimes sing at the beginning or end -- usually the end, because my slow-eaters are still eating (or just picking at their food -- that's another story) at the beginning. We read a text, never longer than my kids can process. Then we discuss what it means and how it might be applied. I usually try to pull this out of my kids, rather than just telling them. Then we pray. It's not a grand production, but it works for my family.

I think this is good advice for everyone here that is feeling overwhelmed.

 

[Micah]

For those crying, "Help!":

My suggestion is that you don't start too grand. It is challenging enough to begin a new habit. I suggest that you start easy and manageable. Then, when setting aside the time and remembering is no longer an issue, you can add a little bit at a time. It took me a very long time, with many false starts, to establish a routine for my family. But keeping it brief and manageable (particularly with small kids) was a big help in effectively establishing the routine. You might start as simple as reading a short passage and praying.

Right now, we sometimes sing at the beginning or end -- usually the end, because my slow-eaters are still eating (or just picking at their food -- that's another story) at the beginning. We read a text, never longer than my kids can process. Then we discuss what it means and how it might be applied. I usually try to pull this out of my kids, rather than just telling them. Then we pray. It's not a grand production, but it works for my family.

Good post. Thanks!



If you don't mind me asking, what do you do personally? I'm really lost, aside from the obvious praying and reading.

 

[jrdnoland]

There is NEVER enough time to spend learning about My Lord and God. He is my treasure, but sadly at times the things of this world make Him seem far away. My personal and family devotions change depending on several factors.

Currently, I get up two hours before having to go to work and read devotions: My Utmost For His Highest and The Life Of Christ. I then read a section of the Bible, right now I’m working through Romans. I then read some other book that has God as the theme, right now its Vos’s Biblical Theology.

To and from work on the drive, I ‘m currently listening to the Westminster catechisms.

At lunch time at work I’m reading through Calvin’s Institutes. I make an effort to talk to at least one person a day about Jesus, it’s always easy to work Christ into a conversation.

After dinner, my wife and I read a few chapters of the Bible, currently we are in Leviticus. After that we do some sort of Bible study together, usually based around our Sunday School lessons at church, currently we are working on The Attributes of God – AW Pink.

Sometimes before bed I’ll catch a pod cast or two, Desiring God, John MacArthur, White Horse Inn, etc.

Of course throughout all of these things and throughout every hour of the day I pray, I’m usually thanking God before my feet hit the floor in the morning and it’s always the last thought on my mind before falling asleep.

One of the things I usually pray and have for years, is for God to give me a desire for Him, to keep driving me into His word and to allow me to see Him in the things of this world. I often stand in Awe at the Majesty of our Great God, how I wish it was more; He must continue to increase, I must continue to decrease.

 

[chbrooking]

Well my personal 'devotions' might not be a fair comparison. As a pastor, I'm afforded more time than most for this sort of thing (and appropriately so). Also, it is a significant part of my calling to pray. So let me offer a suggestion instead.

Suggestion:
1- Follow a schedule to read through the Bible, but don't necessarily follow the TIME element of the schedule. The idea is to read through the whole. It doesn't matter how fast you do it. I'd read at least a chapter, but don't pressure yourself to get through the 4 chapters required to get through the Bible in a year. Prayerfully read.
2- When you hit matters to investigate (things difficult to understand, some genealogical connection that strikes your interest, etc.) jot them down quickly, but don't pursue them right away. Wait until after #4 below. Then if you have time, go for it.
3- Read anywhere from a few pages to a chapter (whatever you have time for) of another book. You can do a systematic theology or something similar, but my suggestion is that you start with something like a counseling book from the guys at CCEF -- some book that is applying the Bible to a particular problem or situation or to life in general. You might read something like Owen or Gurnall, but I wouldn't try to read too much at a time. The puritans are dense enough to be profitable in small chunks anyway. I'd balance your reading. Just be sure not to set a goal you won't attain. Choose a small section of a puritan or an ST; finish it; move on to something easier for a few weeks. Then come back to the heavier stuff for a while. Balance or variety helps you avoid 'going through the motions'.
4- Spend a few minutes praying for yourself and other people.

All of this can be done in as little as 15-20 minutes, or much longer -- whatever you have time for. Don't punish yourself with some legal requirement to put in 2 hours every day. That's a recipe for failure. If you wind up putting in 2 hours, great. But it doesn't earn you points in heaven.

Again, the advice for family holds for you individually as well. If you are struggling, don't do too much. Start simply. Read the Bible (it doesn't matter how much). Pray. That's it. If you have time for more, work your way through one book that you find helpful. If you are inclined to read something heavy duty, go ahead. But if it costs you consistency, change plans next time. Maybe don't try to get through all of the heavy work. Choose a small part and then switch gears for a little while.

I hope this is helpful. Remember, we are striving to grow in righteousness. That growth in grace is not measured by how much you do in your personal devotions. It's measured by what you do, say and think afterward. Does your time affect how you live?

 

[jwithnell]

We've been reading through Danial in our family devotions, and his practice of praying (specifically being thankful to God) three times a day struck a chord in me. Not that there's any magic in three, but it is a good reminder to truly be thankful to God, often, rather than offering a day-long litany of petitions.

Bible study itself is more of a challenge for me, especially right now when I am in one study that has readings in Christ of The Covenants (Robertson) and a class that is working its way through Berkhof's Systematic Theology. Just making it through those materials is challenging with the kids around.

When I'm not participating in a Sunday School class, I love finding a quiet place in the church to read and pray!

 

[Steve Curtis]

For my personal devotion, it's:
1 - prayer
2 - Read an entry from "The Valley of Vision"
3 - Read a fairly long section (4-8 chapters) of Scripture (presently in 2 Samuel) for general "saturation"
4 - Read a much shorter passage, more meditatively (presently in Luke)
5 - prayer

 

[LeeJUk]

Hey Steve, I've been trying to find the balance between doing that (reading large section and then meditation on a smaller one). So do you meditate on like a few verses or a chapter and do you have any other advice for doing this? Is there certain things you ask in your mind or go over in your mind when trying to meditate on the passage?

Thanks.

 

[JennyG]

I often pray in the village church. It was already more than 300 years old at the time of the Reformation when John Knox once preached there. When I go in to pray for Scotland and its people, I feel I'm joining my prayers with his and every other believer's from that time to this.
I know I would be anyway, and such external helps aren't a necessary part of devotion, but oh, they can be sweet

 

[Bern]

Currently I'm using R M M'Cheyne's Daily Bread reading plan. Definately helps with understanding the overall message and flow of the bible, rather than only focusing on one small element. So far its the only reading plan I've been able to stick to. Although I don't follow the time element, I tend to read a few days worth of readings in one sitting (when I have time).

So personal devotions in a day usually consist of
A) Prayer, always pray for understanding of what I'm about to read.
B) 1 to 2 hours of M'Cheyene's readings, making notes as and when something new strikes me.
C) As much time as is practical reading puritans (currently working through Owen's "Spiritual Mindedness") or some sort of systematic theology, or a helpful book eg. Holiness by Ryle.
D)Prayer at various times during day.
E)Prayer before bed.

The single biggest factor that has massively affected my spiritual progress has been keeping in mind that the whole bible is about Christ. Seeing Christ in every book of the bible. This can be especially hard for those froma dispensational background where Israel and the church are kept separate etc

 

[Christoffer]

For those crying, "Help!":

My suggestion is that you don't start too grand. It is challenging enough to begin a new habit. I suggest that you start easy and manageable. Then, when setting aside the time and remembering is no longer an issue, you can add a little bit at a time. It took me a very long time, with many false starts, to establish a routine for my family. But keeping it brief and manageable (particularly with small kids) was a big help in effectively establishing the routine. You might start as simple as reading a short passage and praying.

Right now, we sometimes sing at the beginning or end -- usually the end, because my slow-eaters are still eating (or just picking at their food -- that's another story) at the beginning. We read a text, never longer than my kids can process. Then we discuss what it means and how it might be applied. I usually try to pull this out of my kids, rather than just telling them. Then we pray. It's not a grand production, but it works for my family.

Thanks for this great advice

When I started with family devotions, I made them way too complicated. My kids are 1 and 4, so naturally I direct whatever I am reading to the 4-year old. In the beginning I read too much of things that were too complicated. My son just looked at me wild-eyed sometimes.

So I decided to shorten it and simplify it. Currently what we do (in connection with evening snack):

- Ask God to bless our devotion
- Read something easy. Lately I've been spending a lot of time in the Psalms, reading the prayers of David. At this moment I just want to teach my son about the soveregnity of God, about the promises of God, about praying to God etc.
- Then we close by praying and relalting to whatever we have just read.

This takes maybe 5 minutes. I intend to increase this with time.

 

[Jeffriesw]

Prayer first
Read out of my devotion book
Read my Daily Bible Section (through the bibel in a year)
Read more from what ever Bible Book I am studying at the time
Read a chapter from Proverbs
More Prayer