I don’t set aside a special time to spend with the Lord or to do formal “devotions.” Instead, I seek to keep my heart continually set “on things above” and to listen to and interact with the living Jesus throughout the day, no matter what I’m doing. I try not to exclude Him from any of my activities or thoughts but to make Him Lord of all of them. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” There’s no “on-off switch” with God! Jesus calls His followers to always be on the clock with Him.

If you focus on continually being led by the Spirit and keeping your spiritual engine running 24/7/365 (even in your sleep), there’s no need for a pregame warm-up. I’ve read the Bible with an open heart almost every day for decades. (I might miss a day or two a year.) For me, Bible reading isn’t a special time of devotion to spend with the Lord, but a continuation of the time I spend with Him day and night.

To “set your heart on things above” means to stay continually online with the living Jesus–to keep conscious connection with Him going throughout the day as long as we’re physically awake. We need a devotional lifestyle, not just a time set aside for morning devotions. A practical example of a devotional lifestyle is demonstrated in the autobiographical book, “The Way of The Pilgrim.” In that book an anonymous Russian tells about his attempts and experiments in trying to “pray without ceasing” as he wandered across parts of what are today Ukraine and Russia. His goal was to repeat the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner,” over and over until it began to automatically repeat in his heart throughout the day. His efforts and experiments to continually focus on the living Jesus were amazing! That book had and continues to have a mighty impact on my life! I say the Jesus prayer often and it is one of the things that helps me keep my focus on Jesus.