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Hope is a force of God that enlivens us to life. We can easily miss the Read More
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I believe the beauty of The Upper Room daily devotional guide lies in its simplicity — a thought for the day, grounded in scripture that facilitates prayer and leads to action.
Undoubtedly, every reader has a pattern they follow each day when they pick it up. Maybe you brew your coffee or tea and find a cozy, quiet spot in your kitchen to read while everyone else is still asleep. Maybe you take your copy and sit under the shade of a tree. Perhaps you read it while riding the subway into work. Do you start with the prayer, with the scripture, or with the devotion? I’m sure there are as many ways to read The Upper Room as there are people who read it. Here’s mine.
Most mornings I wake up two or three minutes before my alarm goes off, grab my phone from its charger, open The Upper Room email — trying very hard to ignore all other emails, text messages, and notifications that came in during the night. As I am opening my phone, I say this short prayer: “God, open me to what you want me to learn this morning. I confess that my brain has already begun making a to-do list for the day, and I invite you to disrupt my thoughts and replace them with what you want me to focus on this day.”
Next, I read the name and country of the person who wrote the day’s devotion. Sometimes I’ll look up the place on my phone map and read about it. Sometimes I will pause and say prayers for that part of the world. I find that doing this expands my worldview and helps me get out of my own geographical space and narrow focus on my own country and state.
Next, I spend time in both the scripture reading and the quoted verse, using lectio divina.* Almost every time, God shows me something I missed in previous readings of that scripture. Most days, a word or phrase jumps out at me. I try to keep that word or phrase in my mind and return to it periodically throughout the day.
Then I read the devotion, with my initial prayer in mind — “God, what do you want me to hear in preparation for my day?” After reading the devotion, I close with the prayer provided by the writer and then pause for a time of silence, followed by a final prayer — something like: “God, as I begin this day, help me to see what you want me to see. Help me to see the people that I may sometimes overlook. Help me to see the world as you see it. Show me the one thing you would like me to do this day.”
When I don’t begin my day with The Upper Room, I have found that my day quickly devolves into my own selfish desires and to-do lists. The days when I don’t start with The Upper Room remind me why I need to. Beginning each day in prayer and reflection helps me to keep growing as a disciple of Christ, opening me up to God’s guidance.
Whatever your daily time with The Upper Room looks like, may God bless you on your journey of growth and discovery, and each day may you see what God wants you to see. Amen.
*For more on the ancient practice of lectio divina, see https://www.upperroom.org/resources/lectio-divina-praying-the-scriptures
Questions for Reflection:
1. How do you spend time with The Upper Room each day? What other simple, small habits can you create to help you seek God’s direction for your day?
2. What would it look like not to let yourself be limited to any daily schedule or preconceived notions of time? When your normal routine does not work out as planned, try something else. What about a post-lunch devotion with colleagues or a pre-dinner one with your family? What about an afternoon rocking-chair devotion or late-evening time apart? Remember, anytime is a good time to spend with God.