Devotions for Christian Women

If you’ve been part of a Christian community for long, the concept of “devotions” is probably familiar to you, even if you don’t necessarily practice them. But for many, the practice might still hold an air of mystery. What exactly is a devotion? In this post, I share what devotions are, why you might want to consider a daily devotion practice, how to begin, and some of my favorite devotions for Christian women.

One of my earliest writing memories is of my mother asking me to write a short essay and prayer for Thanksgiving. I was in 6th or 7th grade, and as I recall, my grandparents were at that dinner table. Grandpa was a pastor, and that could easily have made me nervous. But I don’t recall being intimidated or worried about proper theology back then. I shared my reflection on Thanksgiving and offered a short prayer. It was simple and thoughtful and my first written devotion.

I set devotional writing aside for many years as I pursued more academic writing and teaching and returned to it a couple decades later when I began writing monthly devotions for our church newsletter, a practice I continued for many years. These days I do a similar thing right here on this blog when I share Christ-centered reflections on life.

If you’ve been part of a Christian community, the concept of “devotions” is familiar even if you don’t necessarily practice them. Perhaps your denomination has a small booklet published each month or quarter with daily devotions or maybe you receive emails with morning or evening devotions.

Yet for many, this practice may be an unknown, a curiosity. What in the world are devotions? Why do we do them? And how do we do them? Whether it’s for you or someone you care about, here’s a little introduction to faith-filled devotions.

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What is a devotion?

A devotion is usually a short reflection on one Bible passage. Right from the start, it’s important to note that a sound devotion (see more below) will always include a verse or two from God’s Word. Always. It’s the heart of the devotional writing.

The reflection part is kind of like an essay. These are often written by ordinary people like me without degrees in theology. When I write a devotion, I may tell a brief story or anecdote, share a personal experience or reflection, and then connect it to God’s Word. Sometimes I write a series of devotions such as for Advent or Lent where there is an overarching theme. But I always try to begin with God’s Word and not the story/reflection. When I read devotions written by lay people, I appreciate their perspective on a particular verse or Bible story.

Sometimes devotions are written by pastors, deaconesses or other professional church workers with a rich depth of biblical knowledge. I love these devotions as they often reveal nuggets of understanding I had never thought about. You can find hundreds of devotional books and collections of devotions written by not so famous and famous theologians like Luther or Billy Graham or Oswald Chambers.

Why read devotions for Christian women?

There are so many good reasons to read devotions, but for me, the primary one is that it’s a quick way to read the Bible, to feast on God’s Word. It’s like a nibble.

For most of my life, I have started my day with a brief devotional reading and prayer that takes ten minutes, max. I do this before the routines of the work day begin. When my kids were little, I would usually do my personal devotions before they woke up. It was my quiet time with the Lord. For the rest of the day, I might not open my Bible or even say a prayer. I might not think about my Lord for the rest of the day because all the seemingly important day-to-day things were crowding Him out. But I had turned to Him first thing and He is with me all day long.

“Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my King and my God,
    for to you do I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”

Psalm 5:1-3

Why? Peace.

Most of these days, as an empty nester, I cherish slower mornings where I can spend more time on my morning devotions, if I want. And still, I’m not always faithful to do them. (I tell you this because I want you to know that doing devotions is not a requirement. It’s a joy. And God does not make a check mark for every day/month/year that you miss.)

But when I skip my morning devotion time, something is off. Perhaps this is because I’ve been a devotion-reader for years. It’s not that doing the devotion is a magical wand upon my day and God will reward me with good things. Uh, nope. God doesn’t work like that. God rewards us with good things even when we don’t pay attention to Him or to the gifts. He’s awesome like that. He gives us daily life, breath, sunrises, and sunsets; He gives us Jesus; He gives us grace.

But He wants us to connect with Him! And one way I do that is through the devotion, prayer, and reading even one or two Bible verses each morning. That fills me with peace and trust and strength for the day.

But it’s not deep Bible study!

Everyone is talking about eating healthier these days. More protein. Less sugar. Fewer processed foods. Well, our faith-life is a lot like this. I want to fill my days with healthy faith practices, things that will truly satisfy and fill me with God’s Word and truth and beauty.

Devotionals can be part of this. Some might suggest that they are “cheap” and a shortcut to actually digging into the Bible. Well, I suppose that’s true. But that doesn’t mean they are without value. Not at all. As I mentioned earlier, devotions are like a snack, but they are a healthy snack, one that feeds you essential nutrients.

Bible study is the full meal. It’s a deep dive where you spend more than five minutes digging into a passage or an entire book of the Bible. You can do this with just your Bible and a good commentary, or you can rely on your church or community classes or other resources. (I am blessed to have a women’s study group at our church where we spend an hour together each week – and time at home – studying God’s Word. This year we are spending time in Psalms and using this book as a resource.)

That being said, you can take a devotion and go deeper with it! Use devotional journaling, for example. You could also do a word-study or a deeper dive into the passage or book that the devotional writer referenced. You might choose to meditate on the passage. Or perhaps you’ll pull out a blank piece of paper and verse map it. So it CAN be a deep study if you have time and desire.

Take Time to Find Sound Devotions for Christian Women

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Titus 2:1

And as for us, we should read what accords with sound doctrine. Uh oh. Now I seem to be getting all churchy here. Why does “sound doctrine” matter? This is important in choosing where you will worship, and it’s also important in choosing what you will use as your resource. It matters. Just like you wouldn’t want to begin your day with a few Twizzlers and expect these will fuel your body. You need an egg. Or yogurt. Protein. And coffee. The quality of the devotions and their theology is critical. Some stuff out there is serious junk food filled with false teachings that can lead you astray. It’s like poison. So be careful and choose wisely.

Know this. The Lord gives us teachers and devotional writers to build up the body of Christ. But we do need to beware of the winds and waves of false teaching.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Ephesians 4:11-14

How to Find a Good Devotion for Christian Women

My suggestion for you is not to use Google or Amazon as your method for finding a good devotional. Probably not a busy social influencer who is TikToking her way to fame, either. Or the big box warehouse book tables. Don’t get me wrong, these may be helpful resources, but oftentimes the books that rise to the top of these lists are there because of savvy marketing and not solid theological content. They may be pretty but what’s inside?

So how do you know if it’s a good devotion? There’s one really simple litmus test. Does it point to you or to Christ? This may not be immediately obvious, so just tuck it in your back pocket as a way to discern the truth of any Christian devotion, study, podcast, and so forth.

Begin small. Your local church. Does your pastor or church community have a good recommendation? How about your denomination? If you have a faithful Christian friend, ask her what she reads. I’ll share my go-to resources below, but know that there are so many more good ones.

How to Begin a Devotional Practice

Like so many faithful practices, there is not one correct way. Do what works best for you in this season of life. Here are a few suggestions for how to begin:

Choose your resource.
Schedule the time of day you will read your devotion. It’s helpful to get into a regular rhythm. It doesn’t have to be mornings, but many find this is a blessed way to start the day.
Put together a small devotional basket or box with your devotion book, a Bible, a pen, and even a notebook. You may want to linger and journal and pray.
Create a comfortable space with good lighting, cozy chair. You want this to be a joyful time.
Tell your family/roommate/spouse so they will know why you are closing the door for five to ten minutes.
Begin right away! Some devotions are dated but don’t wait for a new calendar year to begin!
Enjoy your time with the Lord along with a cup of tea or coffee.
If you miss a day, don’t fret. Begin again tomorrow.

Devotions I Like for Christian Women

(Really, many of the devotions for Christian women I like are the same devotions I would recommend to Christian men.)

Portals of Prayer (printed and App)
Lutheran Hour Ministries
LWML Mustard Seeds
Books such as Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest
Portals of Prayer Devotional Bible by CPH (fun fact: I have some of my own devotions published in there!)

Devotions and Reflections on My Blog

Over the years on my blog, I’ve shared reflections on life that I usually point back to my faith and God’s grace. If you’re looking for some spiritual encouragement, you may try starting with one of these posts. Use them as a quick snack or a jumping off point for rich study.

(Note: These might not all fit the definition of a devotion I provided above, but they are reflections on life from a faith-based perspective, and they all include Bible verses for reflection.)

To God be the glory!

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Beth Foreman

AUTHOR | SPEAKER | ORDINARY GAL