For many years I assumed the prayers and Bible lessons embedded in an hour-long Sunday morning worship service was more than enough spiritual focus for the average Christian. It wasn't until I was in high school that I became aware of the fact that some church-goers actually spent time in prayer and Bible study on their own, at home, throughout the week. Every day!
As a young kid, I would occasionally come across my mom sitting beside the kitchen table under one of those giant hair dryers, reading her Bible while her head - covered in little curlers - was cupped under the humming pink plastic. But if either of my parents practiced daily devotions on a regular basis, they must have done it in private.
Some summers we visited the family of my dad's cousin in Iowa, a no-nonsense Reformed pastor. I remember finding it both weird and alluring when Uncle Lloyd would break out the Bible after dinner and do an impromptu Scripture lesson with his wife and children - and any visitors who happened to be around his table. Apparently he did this every single night! It seemed so strange to me.
I figured that was something that maybe only pastors did. Specifically Reformed pastors, because I often had dinner at my friend Pete's house where dinner didn't include Bible study. And his dad was a United Methodist pastor.
To this day, I often thank God for my Sunday school teachers during my high school years, Tom and Marcia Kuhn, who showed me that "daily devotions" were not just for professional believers and legendary "heroes of the faith", but for all of us "normal" Christians as well.
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