What advice do you have on doing devotions?

A reader asked me the question: “What advice do you have on doing devotions?” My response was this:

OK, let’s begin by acknowledging the fact that our time with God can become the routine fulfillment of some legalistic brain cell that keeps misfiring.

On the other hand, Peter Wagner reports that South Korean pastors usually spend three hours a day in prayer. When asked “why?” they answer, “that’s where the power is!”

You can talk the issue to death – the bottom line is that for any relationship to grow, you need to spend time hanging out with a person. Same thing holds true for God.

So, I recommend mornings (after coffee) to set your day off right, renewing your mind. Find some quiet place where you can pray out loud. In general, it takes me a good 90 minutes to quiet myself before the Lord and hear him. But often I’m only there for half that time and get distracted by stuff. My book on the subject can help you work through this issue.

People who are going to make an impact for the Kingdom will put this first in their lives. Of course you want to study the Bible.

If you’ve never learned how to study it, the book by Howard Hendricks is good. Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” The habit of journaling is probably the best tool for reflection. Here are my thoughts on journaling:

A lot of followers of Jesus won’t make these kinds of commitments. They exchange their priorities for those of Jesus, who regularly spent whole nights in prayer. Honestly, I don’t know how else you follow Jesus except to do what he did.

Also, check out the Sons of Sceva, a blog on true intimacy and spiritual authority.