Reading Daily Devotions

As I say in my book, Women Making Time for God, we should spend some quality time with our Lord and Savior each day. Most of us will spend time talking to God almost constantly, but I mean that good, quality time of reading Scripture or something that reminds us of God's love for us. I prefer mornings for my personal devotions, because that seems to set a good mindset for the remainder of the day. Our family Bible study/devotions happen after dinner dishes are washed. So, whatever time of day works best for you is fine. Five to ten minutes is all you need for your clear revelation. 

You can read a few verses from your favorite Bible - King James Version, New King James Version, NLT, WEB, Amplified Bible, etc. If you have a study Bible, read the notes that go along with your devotional reading to help you with the meditation afterwards. Yes, I said meditation - as God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (NIV) 

David repeated this again with a little more elaboration in Psalm 1:1-3: "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers." (NIV)

To meditate, I close my eyes and take a deep breath (like I'm breathing the message into my mind, body, and soul) and repeat the devotion a couple of times and let it soak in. I think of the areas God is working on in my life and I thank him for the messages he is bringing to me each day that will help me in one of those areas. Maybe you're trying to mend a relationship that is impossible without the Lord's help or need to be more thankful for the small things in life that you take for granted or you're grieving after a death. If you're like me, that list goes on and on - because I need God every day for all the things that are going on in my life.

My devotions come from simple verses of Scripture. One is a calendar of devotions that I reread year after year. I'm on the 4th or 5th year now. Hobby Lobby sells many different ones of these calendars published by Day Spring. Or look at the Day Spring perpetual calendars similar to mine on Amazon. I'll reread each daily calendar devotion each time I pass by it throughout the day.

Day Spring perpetual devotions calendar

I also have a devotions book, Strength for Each Day by Joyce Meyer, that I read alongside the flip-calendar devotions. The devotions are about one page long. And I will read this year after year as well. As you can see, I like to highlight portions that particularly make an impression on me. Also, I'm hoping this will make my family smile and help them along their life's journey when they look through these after I've passed from this life.

Devotion from Strength for Each Day by Joyce Meyer

I find that even though each one has different subject matter, most of the time I can use both to meditate on only one area of my life each day. Sometimes I'll have time for a supplemental devotional reading from God's Words of Life: From the NIV Women's Devotional Bible. It has themed devotions to help with anxiety, challenges, discipleship, grief and death, hospitality, and so much more that we deal with in life. 

God's Words of Life Devotions for Women

What about you? Where do you read your daily devotions from? And do you meditate for a couple of minutes afterwards to reflect on the beauty and message of each lesson? How do the devotions and meditation help in your daily life? Drop us a Comment below. We'd love to hear about your devotional habits or any questions you may have about daily devotions.
Take care and stay safe,
Patricia