It’s Time to Make a Choice

In late December I choose which devotional book I’ll read alongside my Bible for Quiet Time each morning. I encourage you to join me in reading devotionals. To help with your selection, I’m including some of my favorites.

            As a young teen I began the habit of reading a daily devotional book. I still recall how vividly God spoke to me through those “two listeners” in God Calling. Through the years I’ve found that when placed alongside Bible reading and prayer, devotional literature is valuable to my Christian growth.

            My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers is a devotional classic. On day one the author invites the reader to make an unreserved commitment: “I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.”

            Thumbing through the pages of Morning by Morning by C. H. Spurgeon, I remember personal events. The year I read this book we cared for my husband’s mother who was dying with cancer; our first grandchild was born; and my father died. Beyond these personal ties, I value this book because Spurgeon exalts Christ, intertwines Scripture and hymnody, and highlights creation.

            Several times I have read Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, co-founder of Oriental Mission Society (currently One Mission Society). Because she compiled this volume during the six years she nursed her sick husband, the lessons speak to the hurting, the persecuted, the doubting. Her theme is confidence in God.

            Although I’ve read other books by E. Stanley Jones, I prize The Way to Power and Poise. His central theme is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, a relationship that produces a Spirit-controlled life.

            Hannah Whitall Smith is best known for her book The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. In God is Enough, editors Melvin and Hallie Dieter have compiled daily readings from nine of Smith’s books. Through the heartache and sorrow in her life, Smith affirms God’s sufficiency.

            In my view you cannot find a better resource on prayer than The Meaning of Prayer by Harry Emerson Fosdick. The chapter on “Prayer as Dominant Desire” made me examine my motives: Did I truly want what I prayed for? Or more exacting: Did I pray for what I wanted?

            A few years ago I discovered Disciplines for the Inner Life by Bob and Michael Benson, father and son. The format includes prayers, Scripture, hymns and excerpts from a broad base of Christian writers. In each week’s topic I found new truth to pierce my self-righteousness. Keeping a spiritual journal helped root the lessons.

            One year I read Each New Day by Corrie ten Boom, who tied together truths of experience and Scripture. The next year I selected Diamonds in the Dust by Joni Eareckson Tada. Through her struggles to accept her disability, she has found in Scripture many “diamonds” which have made her “rich in faith and wealthy in hope.” This past year I read Wisdom For the Way by Charles Swindoll, excerpts from his several books. Brief but powerful daily reflections.

            Not meant to be a devotional book, I must include one by Evelyn Underhill, my husband’s favorite author. While you might have to find it in a used bookstore, I recommend the volume which includes: The Fruits of the Spirit, Light of Christ, and  Abba. She has a style that touches the heartstrings with intellectual precision.

            In recent years, I’ve found current authors who have collected devotions from earlier saints. Such are: Take Time to Be Holy by Samuel Logan Brengle, edited by Bob Hostetler. Another by Hostetler: The Bard and the Bible, the Bard being Shakespeare. Two compiled by James N. Watkins: Intimacy with Christ, includes classics by Brother Lawrence, Francis of Assisi, and others; and The Imitation of Christ, devotions by Thomas A. Kempis, in today’s language. I also include one of my favorite current authors who, among her 50 books, wrote Jesus Every Day: Prayers to Awaken Your Soul.

            I’ve introduced you to some of my favorites. These you may consider when you make your choice. Look them up online to better acquaint yourself with authors and topics. Then choose for yourself a devotional guide to read on a daily basis by matching the book to your personal, present-day need. God will speak to you through His saints.