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Now, I understand those of you who are not morning people, I have raised two of those types of people and my best friend since childhood and my best friend now (my husband) are not morning people. Just plan your alone time accordingly and do itfor at least 21 days. Many people are in touch with God in the wee hours of the morning, when I am safely tucked into bed. Isn't it great that God does not have regular business hours?

Now that I had a time, I could apply the what I would put in my devotions. Here is what I heard to include in daily devotions if you do not know where to start:

1. Begin a Read the Bible through in a Year schedule.

Many are included in the front or back of Bibles, they are available online, Christian book stores have them, sometimes even your church may have one available. Some start with Genesis and go straight through to Revelation, others include some reading in both the Old Testament and New Testament each day. Just use whatever method that suits you best.

2. Read 5 chapters of Psalms daily. This is to keep you sweet and loving.

I know there is an issue when you come to 119, but I generally divide it into two parts, or read it all in one day, or something. God usually works that out for me.

3. Read one chapter of Proverbs by the date. This is to keep you wise.

By the date means on the first day of the month, you read Proverbs Chapter One, the second day of the month, the second chapter and so on.

4. Read one chapter of Acts by the date. This is to give you a spirit of revival.

Often, I replace this with a read through of one of the gospels, which keeps the life of Christ in front of me on a daily basis, or sometimes I will start with Romans, or Galatians or something Paul has written.

Lately I have added a very brief reading in our Sunday School lesson for the week and a very short reading in a daily devotional book our Pastor shared with us, written specifically for women.

You could always go to your church library, your local Christian bookstore, online or to your Pastor or a friend for other suggestions.

I keep one of my ever present yellow legal pads next to me as I'm reading my Bible, and jot down questions and things that God has impressed upon me about a certain passage or thought. These writings have been very revealing to me. Some days I write nothing, some days my pen never stops. What is important is that you write what the Holy Spirit has put on your heart.

I also keep a prayer journal, and after I have let God speak to me through His Word, I talk to Him. I begin by praising God for Who He is. I figure David spent a good part of the Psalms in Praise of God, so I could model my time spent with God after David's. It is also a command to Praise God: Psalm 34:3a, "O magnify the Lord with me",Psalm 40:16b, "let such as love thy salvation (us, the saved, called out Christians), say continually, The Lord be magnified", Psalm 147:1: "Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely." (Comely: good, right, beneficial).

The things I record in my journal are varied. Sometimes they are the earth shaking things that are occurring in my life, sometimes they are the seemingly simple, tiny things, that God would not even bother with. Always they include prayers for others; missionaries, relatives, friends, business associates, etc.

I always go back to the beginning of my prayer journal for that month, or any other entry that is not crossed off, and pray about each of those things daily. When a request has been graciously answered by God, either yes, no, maybe, a blessing, a comfort or God has given me the knowledge that I no longer need to pray in that area, I always cross off that request, write Praise in big, bold print over it  and record the date.

I love to go over my prayer journal and see how many times God answers a prayer, especially the very small ones. God is concerned about every detail of our lives and sometimes I think we forget that. The verse in James 4:2d says, "yet ye have not because ye ask not", not "Ye have not because you ask about only the big things in your life". Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you". James 1:5 states, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him". Then, there is Matthew 21:22, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall recieve."

All of this takes about an hour. I shorten it sometimes by reading faster, by not writing anything down, and sometimes God just leads me to a shorter time with him. He knows what will occur in my day and how much time I need to spend with Him.

The most important thing is to just do it. It doesn't matter when, it doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter at what place in the house. God just wants you to be in constant communication with Him, and Satan will come along at any little provocation and try to stop that sweet, sweet fellowship we have with God. I know, I have, through the devils' wiles, been persuaded to give up my time with God for huge blocks of time. Time that I have been ashamed of when I see the error of my ways. Time that if I had used to seek God's face, could have revealed to me the answer to one of my pressing needs of the time.

Don't delay. Start your time with God. This morning.....or this evening....just start. God has great things he wants you to do for Him and His kingdom. Be prepared by being read up and prayed up.

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