What Are Good Devotions?

I was thinking about what makes good devotions.  We know that having daily devotions helps us grow in our faith and gives us strength and wisdom for life’s challenges.  Many Christians choose to have morning devotions in order to start off the day with a focus on God.  Others prefer to have devotions during a break at work or in the evening before bed time.  But regardless of when you have your devotional time with God, what makes some devotions good ones while others are just so-so?

I think there are a number of factors.  The first factor comes down to our attitude.  How are we approaching our time with God?  Are we eagerly expecting to hear from Him and coming with an open spirit?  Or are we just doing our Christian duty by opening up our Bible and devotional book or pulling up an online devotional to read.  If we are simply running our eyes over the page with hardly a thought about what it’s saying and throwing up a quick prayer, we will walk away without having had good devotions.

Another key factor is the content we are reading.  If we are reading from a devotional book or reading an online Christian devotion, we must make sure it matches up with Scripture.  If it’s simply a feel-good, positive thinking article, it might have a tip or two we can use, but it won’t feed us spiritually.  We can use Bible study tools such as concordances, topical Bibles, and Scripture verse cross reference guides to further examine topics that are in the devotionals we read.  If we are not sure about something that is written, it is good to ask for feedback from mature Christian friends or our pastors.  And we need to read the Bible as well as reading devotional articles that discuss the Bible.

Another factor in having good devotions is prayer and worship.  If we lift our thoughts or voices to God in praise and thanksgiving and also ask Him to reveal Himself and His truth to us through His Holy Spirit, we will experience His Presence in the midst of our daily devotions.  Sometimes I put on worship music that lifts up the name of Jesus.  It helps me to focus my attention on Him rather than to have my mind wandering in different directions when I’m trying to have my devotions.

For many people, a time of quieting their spirits before God is essential to having meaningful devotions.  Listening to His still small voice is more important than having our minds rush from thought to thought and from prayer request to prayer request.

So perhaps we could say that good devotions consist of coming to our devotional time ready to hear God, praying and listening for Him to speak to us, spending some time in worshiping Him, and focusing on some good biblical content that will lift us up and build our faith.  At least part of that content should be from the Bible itself.

I’d be interested in reading YOUR comments about what makes “good devotions” for you!
Links to Devotional Books and Resources can be found on most of the pages and posts of Daily-devotionals.com