Can a Christian gift store help change your life by helping you maintain daily quiet time in prayer? Absolutely, and in several exciting ways.
There’s no doubt that starting out on a daily quiet time of prayer and scripture reading is completely rewarding, both now and for the rest of your life. Yet it can be difficult to stick with it daily and to not view this as a “have to” time of the day – but rather a “so glad I get to” time of day.
Jesus spent time alone with his Father on several occasions in the Bible, both to refocus on His ministry and to pray for people. The Bible tells us about praying both in the morning, and at night: Luke 6:12 says: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” In Isaiah 26:9, the focus is on nighttime prayer: “My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.”
If you are setting out on a daily devotional time, look for a Christian gift store to find some helpful and meaningful resources:
- Start with a beautiful bookmark you’ll love to find daily. The Printery House offers a brightly-colored bookmark called “Each Moment is a New Beginning” – perfect for moments when you feel like your devotion time has fallen to the wayside.
- Consider an item you can hold in your hand, such as the Comfort Cross made from olive trees from the hill country around Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
- Get a journal to write down your thoughts and prayers; you can find everything from leather to handmade paper covers at many online religious gift stores.
- Set the same time and place each day, and tell others about your actions. They can encourage you and will likely become inspired themselves to have a devotional time.
- Want to know more about the Saints? Try The Printery House Saints Devotional Bible. Believers have studied examples of the Saints for hundreds of years to strengthen their faith and learn more about the Bible. The inspiration you can find in this devotional can be great food for thought the whole day through.
- Consider a special candle for your devotional area. Lighting it can draw your thoughts toward prayer and the Scriptures and remind you that Jesus is the Light of the World.
However you decide to move forward with your daily devotional time, don’t feel like you have to have the “perfect” setting – the main point is to encounter a deeper relationship with God through prayer and studying the Word. If you commit to pushing through the challenging times, you’ll find this is one of the most rewarding times of your day, and you won’t want to miss it for anything.
Want more ideas for your daily devotions, or to encourage others through hand-designed Christian and Catholic cards? Check out the cards and gifts offered by The Printery House, a Benedictine monastery in the hills of northwest Missouri.