How to Develop a Daily Devotional Routine That Works for You

It’s great to have you join us as we explore some practical tips and strategies that will help you develop a consistent daily devotional routine which supports your individual needs and preferences and most importantly, quiet time with God. The aim of this piece is to enhance your spiritual growth and personal connection with God by implementing simple, achievable daily steps.

What is Daily Devotional Routine?

A daily devotional routine is a series of steps that you take each day to spend quiet time with God and build your spiritual growth.

Understanding the Importance of a Daily Devotional Routine

By following a similar/the same routine each day, you reduce the amount of decision-making required and ultimately help reduce stress, as well as building structure and rhythm. Furthermore, a daily devotion routine enables you to concentrate better on the reading/prayer at hand, when speaking with God and to grow your confidence to study the Bible and Pray more effectively. In turn, your relationship with God will be strengthened as you naturally begin prioritising your quiet time spent with Him as your connection to His presence increases.

Finding the Right Time for Your Devotional Routine

The time of day in which you complete your daily devotional routine is completely up to you. For many, starting their day with a devotional time helps them to better prepare themselves for the day ahead, whilst others find focusing on their devotional during their lunch break better as it allows them to draw close to God’s presence amongst the day’s demands. The most important thing is that once you choose a time, you commit to it and spend time in God’s word. This allows for consistency, routine and again, reduces the decision-making required to get started.

Bible reading

Starting out can feel a bit overwhelming at times. Many people feel they need to allocate 20-30 minutes or more straight off the bat, although this is not the case. The best thing to do is to start small with your bible study routine. Start with what you can manage, and more importantly, maintain! This may be 5-10 minutes initially, before you gradually increase the duration of your devotional time as you develop greater confidence in your ability to lead yourself into God’s presence. Everyone’s quiet time is unique, and you need to take the time to find a routine that works for you, your lifestyle and preferences!

Choosing the Right Tools for Your Devotional Routine

There are so many ways to go about your morning or afternoon devotional routine and that includes selecting the right Bible reading plan for you! Some great options/places to get started including:

1) Find a Bible Reading Plan for the New Year | Crossway Articles

2) Top 21 Best Bible Reading Plans – 2025 – Bible Study Together

3) 25 Best Bible Reading Plans for 2025: Full and Thematic

4) Bible Reading Plans for 2025 – Read the Bible in a Year

Further to a Bible reading plan, you might consider using worship music and a prayer app, such as YouVersion Bible App, Abide, Pray.com and Echo Prayer which can help enhance your bible study and quiet time with God. A great way to evaluate your growth and success in establishing and maintaining a daily devotional routine is to record your thoughts, prayers and insights in a journal.

Creating a Bible Reading Plan

The great thing about the Bible is that you really can start anywhere! Therefore, your Bible reading plan can change year to year and continue to remain fresh and unique. Some great options include:

  • Reading a Bible passage or verse each day
  • Reading the entire Bible in a year using a reading plan made by a reputable source
  • Ensuring you allow time for reflection and meditation on the Bible verses you read. The following Bible verses highlight the importance of this as per scripture:
    • 1 Corinthians 11:28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. (NIV)
    • James 1:23-25: 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (NIV)

Essential Elements of a Devotional Routine

Whilst devotional routines and your time spent with God can be catered to your individual preference, there are still key elements that are vital to ensuring you continuing growing in your Faith and in your relationship with Jesus. These essential elements include:

  • Bible reading and study of the Word. This includes actually delving deeper to gain an understanding of the cultures and contexts that are applicable to the scripture you’re reading.
  • Prayer and Worship. These both allow you to encounter Jesus in a spiritual realm and enhance your relationship with Him in a profound way!
  • Reflection and Application. Once you’ve finished with your ‘allocated time’ for the day with God, don’t just stop and forget. Carry the scripture of words you’ve heard from God with you throughout the day. Continue asking yourself how it may apply to different situations, as this is where you will see the real transformation taking place.

Building a Sustainable Devotional Routine

A sustainable devotional routine starts small and builds gradually, allowing for consistency. Further to this, it must be a non-negotiable part of your day and not lead by feelings or energy levels. At times, I can find it hard to get started, but once I’ve begun that prayer, asking God to open my heart and plant in me a desire to speak to Him, I find myself losing track of time and resting in the presence of God.

If you are in a season where getting started seems merely impossible, from my own experience, I encourage you to find accountability and support to get you started and then maintain your routine. This might include grabbing coffee with a friend for an hour a week and just reading scripture and praying together or even going for a walk as you unpack a key scripture every morning or few days! Make it something you love and enjoy, that comes naturally, as this often produces the best results!

Bible reading group

Don’t forget that the Bible continually talks about seasons…seasons to plant, seasons to wait, seasons to harvest. Similarly, we have our own seasons, meaning that patience and flexibility is absolutely vital! Don’t compare your seasons to others and don’t fall into the trap of comparing one of your own to another. You will inevitably miss a day or two here and these, and that’s okay. The most important thing is to get back into the Word and praying/speaking to God as soon as you can and know that it doesn’t have to be long or ‘formal’ every time. God wants us to continually converse with us, just as we would a friend.

Overcoming Obstacles and Staying Committed

Like with anything, establishing new routines can be hard. Here are some tips and tricks to help make it that little bit easier:

  1. Identify potential obstacles. This could include a busy schedule such as waking up early to kids and putting kids to bed late or a general lack of motivation.
  2. Develop strategies to overcome these. Overcoming a busy schedule may not be easily solved by just waking up earlier, because no doubt, you’re exhausted as it is! Instead, this might include needing to delegate some tasks if possible or tying your devotional time into your day to day. My friend once told me that she felt like she never had time for God, so to help overcome this, she began praying for each of her children/husband as she folds their specific clothing item when doing the washing. When it was her items of clothing, she prayed for herself and others. In addition to this, once a month she found a new verse to write out on cards that she scattered through her home and even placed on her steering wheel, making it more accessible to her busy schedule!
  3. Remind yourself why you’re doing it! Remind yourself that if you have children, they’re watching, hearing, learning from you. What you model impacts them far greater than you could ever think or imagine! Include them every way you can…have a family competition as to who can memorise a set verse first or have a family picnic night where you go to the local park and spot all the wonderful things God has made. The possibilities are endless, so get creative! Your kids have lots of ideas…just ask!
  4. Don’t be hard on yourself. Celebrate the wins! If you didn’t pray yesterday and you did today, what a great achievement! Remember, God loves you no matter what and is ALWAYS there for you!!

Making Your Devotional Routine a Priority

Sometimes it can seem difficult to prioritise your devotional time when there’s tangible needs right in front of your eyes. Although, spending time with God ALWAYS sets you up for greater success in the present moment and long term.

Prioritising your devotional routine includes sometimes needing to say no to other activities such as social media and time watching your favourite TV shows or series. It might include waking up a little bit earlier than you might otherwise have liked or staying up past your usual bedtime. Whichever it is, you will not regret it when you receive God’s peace and joy from having invested in Him and His presence.

When travelling, I especially find it challenging to maintain a strong daily devotional routine as my days are often filled with many additional demands and desires to see and do things that I don’t always have access to. Although, having learnt from experience, this is often the time I need to prioritise it most! Remember your devotional routine is essential for your spiritual growth and well-being and no matter where you are, or what you’re doing, this is always an integral aspect of who you are!

Finding Rest and Refreshment in Your Devotional Routine

Your daily devotional habits and routines shouldn’t always feel demanding and draining. Often times, they will feel rhythmic, and you’ll feel joy and anticipation for the time you get to spend in God’s presence. If this isn’t the case, I encourage you to take the time to reflect on your current routines and re-establish these with some of the suggestions included in this article.

I trust and believe that your devotional time with God is a time for you to rest and feel refreshed! It should not feel like an obligation. Ensure you give yourself enough time to fully relax and unwind, which for many, including myself might involve an extended time of praise and worship, or on some days, only this aspect! Remember that authentic time with God must involve focussing on His presence, His peace and letting go of any stress and anxiety we may feel. Some key scripture I often use to help when finding this challenging include:

  • Philippians 4:7
  • Isaiah 26:3
  • James 4:7
  • Ecclesiastes 3:6
  • Psalm 147:3

To allow God to fully immerse Himself in you and soak His word into your soul, you need to take the time to reflect and meditate on His works, His word and His love for you!

Bible reading in nature

Putting it All Together

If there’s one key aspect I want you to take with you today, it’s that God loves you and your time with Him is freeing. It allows you to experience Him in his fullness. Remember that your devotional routine needs to work for you, not for anyone else. Prioritising your devotional time is a non-negotiable and essential to your spiritual growth and overall wellbeing. Life changes, seasons change, and therefore what worked in one season might not work in another. Take the time to explore new routines a few times each year if needed but also remember not to change too often that the routine never becomes established. Be patient, flexible and kind to yourself as you develop your routine. I hope you find a spark of joy, love and happiness in doing so!

If you have any further questions or would like to get involved in a church where they can help you establish an effective daily devotional routine, check out C3 Powerhouse Church – Ringwood, Melbourne East.