Christian Living and Devotional writing falls under the umbrella of non-fiction writing. In general, non-fiction writing informs and motivates readers to change something about their lives. Although Christian Living and Devotional writing informs and motivates, it also ministers to the reader’s soul.
To minister means to serve or to give aid to someone. In other words, to help someone out. Christian writers know that the only lasting help for our readers is to point them to Jesus. Our writing is a tool that the Holy Spirit can use to change the lives of our readers.
How can we be sure that our writing is a ministry and not just motivational? Here are three ways:
1. Stay in God’s word. If you are continually reading God’s word, the words that you write will be naturally saturated with Scripture. If you are writing out a devotional idea and then looking for a Scripture to support your idea, you are working backwards. The most effective Christian Living and devotional writing flows out of your Scripture reading and study. Make daily Bible reading a habit. Read the whole Bible, not just your favorite parts or the parts that are already familiar to you.
2. Pray for your readers. Prayer is the acknowledgement that it is the Holy Spirit who is at work in your readers, not just your words. Vicar Peter Adam was interviewed about how not to be boring on Nancy Guthrie’s podcast Help Me Teach the Bible. Peter Adam said that in his preparation time for speaking somewhere he spends half his time studying and the other half of the time praying for those who will hear the message. I think we can do the same thing with our writing. Take some of your writing time to pray for your readers that the Holy Spirit would change their lives to make them become more like Christ and that He would meet their needs. This is different than praying for yourself as a writer. Pray for your readers that their spiritual needs would be met however the Holy Spirit sees fit to do that.
3. Connect with the larger body of Christ. Most of our studying and writing takes place alone in our homes away from others. It is very easy in this situation to stray from an orthodox understanding of God’s word. We also can face writer’s block as a devotional or Christian Living author, not sure what to say about a particular passage. To make sure we are accurately handling God’s word, stay connected to the larger body of Christ. Attend church regularly. Ask your pastor or church leaders about a Bible passage when you get stuck. You may even want your pastor and elders to approve your writing and check it for doctrinal accuracy. I have heard that some Christian songwriters like Michael Card do this with their song lyrics.
The best Christian Living and Devotional writing acknowledges that Jesus is the One that changes the reader’s life. When we stay in Scripture, pray for our readers, and connect with the larger body of Christ, our writing can be a ministry and not just motivational.
Rachel Schmoyer is a pastor’s wife who is loving her church life. She writes about the hard parts of Scripture at readthehardparts.com. She has had devotionals published in the past, but now she is looking forward to getting her first Christian Living book published. You can connect with Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
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