Over the past few years, my prayer life has changed. Honestly, praying and reading my Bible was never the easiest. I get distracted very easily, so the smallest thing would take my attention away. As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve started to realize just how important prayer is and how important it is to spend time in the Word of God.

Throughout the years, I’ve tried many different ways to try and keep myself accountable in my devotional life. So today I wanted to share my devotional habits and what I’m doing. Hopefully, this will spur some creative thinking for your own devotional life.

Right now, I wake up earlier that I used to. Waking up early gives me some time in the morning to spend time with the Lord. I’ve been doing daily devotionals through New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp. It’s been a great way to start my morning every day. I also do the Bible reading that is suggested that ties in the daily reading. I love being able to get some encouraging words and read Gods word in the morning. It really sets off my day on the right foot. I’ve gotten so used to it that when I miss a day, everything just feels off.

I’ve also used index cards to write down my prayers. I really like to have the opportunity to lift other people up in prayer. A lot of the times when I start to pray I lose the words that I want to say. Having the prayers for others already written down helps me to remember to pray for them. It also sparks thoughts and prayers for others that I may not have remembered to write down.

I love being able to start my day this way. I notice such a difference in my attitude throughout the day. Putting aside the fact that I’m a worship leader, spending time with the Lord as a Christian woman in general is extremely important. Spending time with God in the morning is like spending time with my best friend. It takes time to get to know someone and build a trust with that person. The same thing goes with God. If you don’t put effort into your relationship with Him than He isn’t going to put effort in either. He will not force Himself on you nor will He force you to love Him. He wants us to come to that decision on our own. Because of what I’ve been through in my life, I have come to truly love and appreciate Him. Which makes waking up early every morning that much easier!

What are some of your favorite prayer tips? Leave a comment below!