After half a semester of attending chapels and spiritual events, every Andrews University Student is familiar with a phrase that goes something along the lines of “we encourage you to have your own devotional life.” This is good advice, but as a busy college student, it sometimes seems nearly impossible to make time to spend with God. It is also easy to sometimes get into a rut and feel like you are doing the same thing every day. So, how do we make this advice practical and develop a consistent devotional life that includes multiple ways to connect with God?
Life as a student is busy, and many students have been honest that they often struggle to follow through on their intentions to have daily devotions. Over the past few weeks, I have been falling into this category more often than I would like. To help with this struggle, some students have shared techniques they use to prioritize consistent devotions. One common piece of advice was to have a Bible app with daily reminders to read a verse, or set a personal reminder on your phone. Others suggested finding out what time of day you are usually energetic. Do your devotions at that time every day, instead of putting it off until you are tired. Finally, a common principle students use to prioritize devotions is to do them at the very beginning of the day. For example, Angelina Nesmith (sophomore, exercise science) says, “I prioritize devotional life by trying to make my devotional the first thing I do in the morning. I’m personally really bad at just running through it and then running out the door, so I set a 15-20 minute timer to keep me on track so that I purposely spend more time with God.” Although spending time with God is not about fulfilling a quota of minutes, setting a timer is an excellent way to ensure time spent with God is not rushed. Together, these tips can help you establish regular devotions amid the business of university life.
Additionally, Andrews University has many resources available to help students make their spiritual walk with Christ an engaging experience. Although there are more obvious worship experiences, such as attending vespers and church, there are many other alternatives that are less known. For example, the UFaith app lists small group events with a spiritual focus that happen throughout the week. Small groups are a great option to worship with others during the week when Sabbath is still days away. The campus itself also holds hidden gems if you look for them. The quiet seating areas strewn around campus are ideal places to spend quiet time with God. One of the more popular ones is located between Buller and Nethery where there is a chair swing, but there are also others on campus. In addition, the girls dorm has a prayer room that students can use to escape the busy surroundings of daily life. Finally, going on hikes or walks, in silence or while listening to Christian music, can help clear the mind and aid in bringing your focus back to God. Whichever method you choose, there are many options available to enrich your devotional life.
Are you looking for more helpful tips to actively make your devotional life a priority? Two of the best pieces of advice to keep in mind are to start small and do what you can. It is unrealistic to go from having no devotional life to reading the Bible for three hours daily. It is hard to build a habit when jumping from one extreme to another. Start with reading a chapter of the Bible daily and then meditating on it. That is much more sustainable. If you accidentally sleep in, use the walk to class to pray or listen to Christian music while thinking about the lyrics. Do what you can, and if you fall off the bandwagon, use the opportunity of the Sabbath to reconnect with God.
Although it can be difficult to make time for a thriving devotional life while balancing school and other activities, it is possible and well worth the effort. It may sound cliche, but building a relationship with God is important, so do not wait. Do what you can to start today.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.