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They just want one thought they can mull over during the day … one thought that will give them a deeper understanding of God or that will help them put their faith into practice.
Bottom line: Sticky devotionals are simple. They follow the One Point Rule.
Sticky devotionals address real-life situations authentically — head on, with the truth.
In a devotional, you’re challenging the reader to life change. To be motivated to change, the reader needs to know that the challenge to do so is credible and grounded in the truth.
While you might feel more comfortable dancing around the edges of the truth in order to protect yourself, the reality is that writing the truth reveals the power of God working in your life or a life you’ve observed.
Bottom line: Sticky devotionals are authentic. They force you to be vulnerable.
A devotional principle becomes memorable when the writer uses words and content to make “good connections” in the reader’s brain.
what makes an experience memorable — memorable being what strengthens those connections — are at least three things: existing connections, sensory details, and emotions.
Sensory details describe what you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. Details that appeal to the senses activate the neurons in your brain. When writing devotionals, try to use sensory details in order to activate more neurons. In fact, if you can use more than one set of sensory details — such as both the sense of sight and the sense of taste — then you’ll increase the chances of forming additional or stronger connections. Your content becomes more memorable.
When you invoke emotions in an honest and judicious way, you help intensify the connections between your brain’s neurons.
Bottom line: Sticky devotionals are memorable. They make connections through experience, the senses, and emotions.
As you write your devotional, run it through your S-A-M test: Simple: what is my one point? Write it out. Authentic: is the content real? You know it is if you feel a bit vulnerable or exposed. Memorable: does the content stick in your mind — and why? Note existing connections, sensory details, and emotions.
Putting the One Point Rule into practice is THE key skill you need to write devotionals that stick.
As I process the content to “get to the point,” I face one of three scenarios. Too Many Points Too Broad of a Point No Point
your job as a devotional writer is to identify one point and drive it home.
If you end up hitting too many points — whether unintentionally or not — the devotional is too long and too confusing. It won’t stick.
Write down the points. Then choose one.
if you have all those different points in your head, then it will only take a minute or two to jot them down. Do it. Write. Down. The. Points.
Choose one. Write it down. Then write your devotional to target that point.
Sticky Tip: Too many points? Write them down. Choose one. Then spell it out to your reader.
Extra Tip: You don’t need to include your Point in the devotional, although you can — if it fits the narrative. But if you don’t write the Point within the devotional itself, be sure to write it down somewhere: in your draft, in another file, on a piece of scrap paper, or wherever. This way, you can refer to your Point as you write. You can make sure that everything in your devotional lends itself to contributing to your Point.
A devotional is a way to give your reader one step of understanding — one point — about a broader topic. Your point about forgiveness — the particular angle you address in your devotional — may be exactly the truth a reader needs. Which biblical point is best demonstrated by your illustration? Use it. Give yourself permission to write the answer God gives to you.
To make one point and write a devotional that sticks, know the difference between a broader topic — a biblical theme — and one facet of that theme.
Sticky Tip: Too broad of a point? Test for the best. Test (against scripture) for the best (point.)
So what? In other words, what difference does the illustration or the scripture make? Is there a conflict and resolution? Is there an object lesson?
Sticky Tip: No point? Finish the story.
There you have it. Your pathway to a short, inspiring point: Too many points? List them (as in write them down.) Choose one. Too broad of a point? Test (against scripture) for the best (point.) No point? Finish the story.
But don’t be afraid to dig into less-trafficked territory in the scriptures. You will uncover riches. They are there. Otherwise, God would not include those passages in His Word.
The point is this: to choose a scripture for your devotional, get in the Word and be in the Word. Ask God to help you see the devotional’s principle in scripture. Wrestle to understand it. Fight to find out how God speaks to that principle through you.
Then whether a passage is familiar or unfamiliar, you will be surprised by a point God makes to you. It is that fresh insight that is so sticky. When you grow, your readers grow.
Devotionals are shorter than a full-blown message. A brief scripture can suffice.
In order for your devotional to be powerful, its scriptural basis must be faithful to the truth it communicates.
As you choose scripture for your devotional, simply make sure the verse accurately portrays the biblical truth in your illustration.
An effective devotional references the Bible translation upon which it is based.
A devotional’s illustration is sometimes called the body, the narrative, or even the “devotional” itself. A good illustration connects a real-life situation to a spiritual truth (your One Point.)
Real Life Situation + Principle = Sticky Illustration
spell out how your illustration connects to your One Point,
in a devotional you need to lead the reader step-by-step sequentially to connect him to the One Point — the conclusion.
News flash: this is not the time for subtlety. Writing a devotional is not like writing a literary masterpiece.
Explain in plain language how the details in the illustration reveal something about God. You’re not done until you make that connection for the reader.
There are two simple ways to make the connection for your reader. Draw a parallel. Make a point to show how the illustration’s details reveal a similarity to God or what you read in the Word. Draw a contrast. Make a point to show how the illustration’s details reveal a dissimilarity to God or what you read in the Word.
The most commonly-used devotional illustrations are personal stories, anecdotes, conversations, statistics, object lessons, interesting facts, pithy quotes, and questions.
The scripture and the takeaway clock in at approximately 25 words each. That leaves 100-200 words for the illustration. Use them wisely.
The illustration represents the bulk of the devotional. You can use nearly limitless means to illustrate a biblical point. Even so, be sure to narrow your focus. Don’t share a fascinating fact to make your point and then tack on an object lesson. Target one truth with one illustration.
Your job is to use the illustration God gives you to make a spiritual point as clearly as you can. Your reader will take away what he or she needs … when your devotional is sticky.
S: Is it short? Does the illustration use just one object lesson, one scene, or center on just one fact? You can share many details, but you’re looking at just one slide in the slide show. A: Is it authentic? Check your language and delivery. Are you coming alongside the reader and sharing as a peer? We alienate our audience when we’re holier than they are. Vulnerability breathes authenticity. M: Is it memorable? Illustrations are memorable when you make the connection for your reader to the scriptural truth.
When your devotional propels the reader to action, you know that it sticks.
A sticky takeaway does not suggest a detailed course of action. It does not assume the reader’s circumstances. Good devotionals stick when the scripture and illustration focus on details, but the takeaway points to a spiritual principle.
You can write clear, simple takeaways when you focus on writing about a specific spiritual principle — your One Point — rather than a specific action step.
If you aren’t sure how to go about writing this element, try using a writing template to construct your takeaway.
