One questions I am frequently asked is about what I do for daily devotions. The implication is that, as a pastor, I should have the daily devotional practice nailed down. The truth is that I do have a devotional practice, but it doesn't always happen daily! Like many people, I sometimes oversleep, or get busy or have other things on my mind and forget. I am not proud to admit it, but it is the truth!

On good days, I always do my devotions first thing in the morning ~ before I even get out of bed. I find that if I wait life gets in the way and I never get to it. My devotions always involve a reading from the Bible. Right now I am reading my way through the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. I usually read a chapter or two at a time. Often I also include another kind of devotional reading in this quiet time. Currently I am reading a collection of Wendell Berry's Sabbath poems.

Following this reading, I spend time in prayer. This can take many forms depending on the day and what is on my heart. Yet, I always conclude my prayer time with what we Methodists call John Wesley's Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

As I wrote above, there are days when I wake up and am on to the next thing before I even think of my devotions. But those end up being the days that I feel most scattered and least in touch with God's presence in my life. I've found that reminding myself that I am God's own ~ and not my my own ~ gives me strength for whatever the day may hold.