A Look at Christian Devotionals and the Guidelines for Writing Them

Christians are a large community of people who believe in God and the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection birthed salvation and liberation from the enemy’s powers- Satan. These beliefs come with several responsibilities. In other words, a Christian should be different from others, and this difference must reflect in their lifestyle, manner of conversation, and relationship with the world. Since living a Christ-like life entails several obligations, Christians encourage one another via various means; one such is daily devotionals.

A devotional is a spiritual material that provides a portion of the scriptures with a related message for Christians daily. Many devotionals follow an established format — a Biblical reference, a corresponding message, and a meditation or prayer section. The content of a devotional differs with respect to its authors, some can be for young believers (those just joining the faith) or for mature believers. However, its general purpose is to promote or inspire spiritual growth.

In addition, before writing or sharing a devotional, one needs to conduct a thorough spiritual self-examination. For instance, the person should ascertain their spiritual status. In other words, they should assess their relationship with Jesus Christ. Since the essence of a devotional is to foster spiritual development, one who writes it must have a good relationship with Jesus — the person must be pure in heart and sensitive in spirit. This self-examination is vital because whatever comes from a person (words or writing) with an excellent spiritual standing will positively affect and influence their audience (listeners and readers).

As part of the self-assessment, the person should determine their mental state. They need to find out whether God is the primary focus as hearing from Him produces the right inspiration for the audience. Finding it out is necessary since one can write a self-sufficient devotional that is not focused on God’s kingdom. Such a devotional has no spiritual substance, misleading the audience.

Further, one who desires to write or share a devotional message should determine whether they are willing to share the truth about the gospel. This step is essential as the willingness will drive the author to request God’s guidance when writing. Devotionals serve several purposes. They meet people who need encouragement; hence, they must be effective. And such is possible with God’s guidance.

Finally, one should identify their audience since people read devotionals for several purposes. Doing so will help them feel their audience’s pulse; some may need marital advice, while others may be struggling with an addiction. The best message the devotional should convey is the supremacy of God and His ability to meet all needs. In other words, the message must direct the audience to God.
Having conducted self-examination, one should adopt an appropriate technique for writing devotionals. A devotional must have a scriptural basis. So, it would help to make the Bible a foundation; the audience should be able to relate the message to the scripture.

Employing imagery would be the best way to make the devotional engaging or interactive. And it should be short (150 to 450 words), concise and precise. One can avoid long sentences and employ an active voice to achieve this.