First 30-Days Routine

It is important to develop a daily routine after being born again and you begin your walk (pilgrimage) as a Christian. This chapter offers some suggestions. Feel free to build on them as you see fit, but I recommend this as the minimum you do each day. I’m listing what has worked for me to help you get started. For the first thirty days, follow the routine below every day without fail. You can then adapt it over time as you mature in the faith.

MORNING:

• Get down on your knees and thank God in prayer for giving you the gift of today, the gift of Jesus on the cross, and the forgiveness of your sins. You can add other things as well. As new sins come up or are revealed, you should confess them before God.
• At this point, the important thing isn’t what you pray about or how you pray—it’s the act of doing it. By doing this, you are learning to humble yourself before God, to take things before Him in prayer, and to be thankful.
• As you pray in the morning, watch your heart; God may reveal things to you that you need to confess, work on, or realize about your heart.
• Read one or two chapters from your Bible. If you cannot do this in the morning (which I strongly recommend), try to do it during the day. However, I’ve usually found that if I don’t do this first thing in the morning, there will be many reasons (excuses) to put it off throughout the rest of the day as well, and pretty soon, I realize that the day is already over, and I didn’t read even a single word of Scripture. Satan loves it when this happens. Remember, it is the Word of God that feeds our new, born-again spirit (Mat 4:4; Psa 1:2; Act 17:11).
• If you like, a daily devotional can provide inspiration. Just beware that some devotionals are designed to appeal to your emotions (and your wallet) instead of adhering to sound doctrine and biblical truth, and they may contain false teachings.

DURING THE DAY:

• Pray and talk to God as often as you can remember to do so. Don’t worry again about formalities, technique, body position (sitting, standing, kneeling, etc.), words, language, semantics, or topics. Talk to God as if He were right there with you as your heavenly Father. You don’t need to (and can’t) hide things from God, for He knows all. Be wholly candid and open with Him.[1]
• Remember that prayer is not just talking to God; it’s also talking with
• If you can, make time to kneel before God at noon also (generally).[2] If you are finding that you are not remembering to pray during the day, make some simple reminders to help you.

EVENING:

• Get down on your knees again and thank God for giving you the gift of that day, for the gift of Jesus on the cross, and for His forgiveness of your sins. You can add other things you feel you want to confess before God.
• The important thing again isn’t the specifics of what you pray; it is the act of doing it and learning to do it regularly, humbling yourself before God, and being thankful above all.

BEFORE ALL MEALS:

• Thank God for His provisions (Psa 24:1; Php 4:6; Col 3:17; 4:2; Eph 5:20; Rev 7:12).

WHAT TO PRAY:

If you are unsure of what to pray each morning and evening (or at any time), I suggest the following as a starting point. You could use this same prayer every morning and evening for all thirty days if you want—that is what I did. Over time, you will adapt it, changing it each time you pray.

Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy great and holy name. Thank You for the gift of today and the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. Thank You for the forgiveness of my sins and also for Your love, mercy, grace, kindness, compassion, and patience. Father, please forgive me for [insert anything you want to confess here; maybe something the Spirit is bringing to your attention today]. Father, help me to walk worthy of You and to seek and do Your will, not mine. Help me to also seek the things above—the things of Your kingdom—and not the things of this world. Help me to read and understand Your Word and to dwell on good things that come from above. Father, grant me Your wisdom, teach me Your ways, and keep me safe from selfish, worldly, and fleshly passions and pursuits. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right and humble spirit within me. Guide me in the path of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Thank You so much for all that You have done for me. It is in Jesus’ holy name, I pray. Amen.

[1] See the chapter “Understanding Prayer.”

[2] We can learn much from the righteous behavior of Noah, Daniel, and Job (Dan 6:10; Eze 14:14, 20).