Eat. Pray. Write: Dishing Up Some Soul Food and Writing Your Next Best Devotional

If you want to know how to write a devotional, start with your own hungry heart. 

What ails you, friend? 

Are you heartbroken, feeling lonely or angry, or experiencing oppression? Chances are your readers are too. Grab your Bible, and find the encouragement you need. Feed yourself on the Word of God; then dish it out in a devo for your tribe. Soul food makes for the best devotional material. As we spend time in God’s Word, we are encouraged to inspire others. 

Here’s a simple method I use for writing a quick devotional: the EAT, PRAY, WRITE method. It always starts with my own noshing on the Word, mingled with lots of prayer. After that, the writing part is usually pretty straightforward. I’ve broken it down into an acronym: PRAY.

Pray and partner with the Holy Spirit to pull your reader toward God’s heart. 

Read the Bible. While it’s tempting to check out what’s happening in the world or on social media to see what you should write about, God knows the hearts of His people. He knows what they need or will need when they read your words. Trust His timing and sovereignty of knowing a word in due season.

Always answer your reader’s point of pain by pointing them to Jesus. Whether you’re using scripture from the Old Testament or New Testament, you can point readers to Jesus because He is written into every page from Genesis to Revelation. God’s painkilling plan for us always included His Son, Jesus; the answers we’re looking for today will too! 

Yield again to the Holy Spirit, asking for the focus to be off you and more on how your reader can get personal with Jesus. Using stories from our own lives is an excellent way to connect with our readers’ hearts, yet we want all the glory to shine on what God has done and will do, who He has been for us and will be again in our time of need. 

Devotionals are meant to draw the reader’s heart toward God to devote our hearts and time more intentionally to God, His Word and time spent with Him. Feed your heart with God’s Word first; then create a feast for theirs. Write from your heart, with the heart of God, and you will feed their hungry souls every single time.

Bon appétit!

Amy Elaine Martinez