Let’s explore the pattern of daily devotions that I am calling 3/10s – Worship/Word/Prayer. This approach to spending time with God maps out three activities for ten minutes each. The goal in this approach is to:
- Spend 10 minutes worshiping God
- Take 10 minutes to read from the Bible
- Spend 10 minutes in prayer
As I said in Spending Time with God, if 10 minutes is too long, shorten the time in the beginning. The key is to develop a habit of daily devotions. This pattern of daily devotions will help ensure the key components of worship, the Word, and prayer are included. Once you have established this pattern in your life, challenge yourself to move on to 5 or 10 or 20 minutes per activity.
For now, let’s explore each of these disciplines further to flesh out the idea of “3/10s – Worship/Word/Prayer”.
1. Worship
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
Psalm 95:6
The natural outcome of a relationship with God is to begin with worship. Glimpses of heaven provided in the book of Revelation reveal people worshiping God on a continual basis. God is the only one who is always worthy to be praised. You will do well to begin by approaching God with praise and worship. Allow me to suggest a few approaches to worshiping Almighty God in your daily devotions.
- Read a Psalm of praise and echo that praise to the Lord in your own words.
- Sing a hymn or a worship song.
- Get a journal and write down your praise and worship of the Lord.
2. Word
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and
Psalm 119:34 – 35
obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
Spend time reading the Word of God – the Bible. This type of reading can be considered devotional reading more so than studying. Developing a habit of reading the Bible will provide great benefit in your life.
- The Word washes us and renews our mind.
- Reading the Bible convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance.
- The Bible will bring greater revelation of the nature of God.
- Wisdom, direction, hope all come with daily Scripture reading.
My suggestion for reading the Word in the 3/10s approach is to pick a book of the Bible and read a portion each day. The point of your daily reading is to ask the Holy Spirit what he wants you to know and apply to your life. So, read the passage prayerfully and meditate on it – listening for the Spirit’s leading on what you need to do.
3. Prayer
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6
Finally, for the remaining 10 minutes, spend time in prayer to God. Approach God with humility and gratitude. In the first 20 minutes, you have already spent time in worship and listening – giving the Holy Spirit room to speak into your heart.
- Be thankful as you begin your prayer time.
- Remember God’s goodness and what he has done in your life.
- Consider praying for others’ needs that you are aware of in your family or circle of friends.
- Then you can make your requests known to him in regard to your own situation.
- End your prayer time with rejoicing and thankfulness that God is good and he has heard your prayers. Help is on the way!
Further reading on Patterns of Daily Devotions:
- 3/10s – Worship/Word/Prayer
- Connecting When Time is Short
- Using a Journal
- Bible Plans