I have never done a devotional. Where do I start?

What should I read first?

Not Genesis to Revelation in order. That plan has ended more devotional habits than any other single cause; most people stop somewhere in the middle of Leviticus and conclude that the problem is them.

Read one of the Gospels — Mark is short and fast, John is warmer — or the Psalms, which is where the Bible does its praying out loud. Better still, use something that hands you the day's passage so you never spend your fifteen minutes deciding. A devotional book, a reading plan, a daily page: any of them removes the one decision most likely to stop you.

A passage a day is enough. You are not behind. There is no syllabus.

I do not know how to pray. Does that disqualify me?

No, and you are in old company: the people closest to Jesus asked him to teach them how to pray, which means they did not consider themselves to know either. Beginning without knowing how is the normal entry point, not a disqualification.

Practically: a prayer can be one sentence. God, I am here. God, help me with today. God, thank you for last night's sleep. Jesus specifically told people not to worry about piling up words, so short and plain is not a lesser version — it is the version he recommended.

If speaking still feels impossible, read a psalm out loud and let that be the prayer. Praying borrowed words is an ancient practice, not a cheat.

One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:1, BSB

What if I read it and understand nothing?

That happens to everyone, including people who have been doing this for thirty years. Some passages are strange, some are about a world with different assumptions, and some simply refuse to open on a Tuesday.

Three things help. Read a modern, plain translation — the beauty of older English is real, but comprehension is what you need first. Read the same passage twice rather than moving on. And ask: a friend, a pastor, a study note, whoever is nearby. Asking to be shown is one of the most common requests in the Psalms; there is no version of this where you are supposed to already know.

And when a passage stays closed, move on the next day without paying interest on it. It will come back around.

Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.

Salmo 25:4-5, BSB

What if I feel nothing?

You probably will, some mornings, and that is not a verdict on your faith or on the practice. Feelings are the weather in the room, not the structure of the building.

The invitation in the Psalms is to taste and see — the language of eating, which is worth noticing. Meals mostly do not feel like revelations either. They keep you alive by repetition, and so does this. Give it four weeks, then ask a slower question: has anything you read come back to you unbidden in the middle of the afternoon?

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Salmo 34:8, BSB

What a first week actually looks like

Concretely, so that nothing is left to invent:

• Tonight: decide the moment (after the kettle, before the commute, at the desk before you open anything) and set out whatever you will read.
• Day 1: Center, Read, Begin only. Five minutes. Do not attempt the full rhythm on the first day.
• Days 2 and 3: add Learn and Thank. Ten minutes.
• Day 4: add Ask and Talk — yes, out loud, even alone. The full fifteen.
• Days 5 to 7: repeat. If you miss one, start again on the next day at the next passage, with no catching up.
• End of week: ask only one question — is this repeatable? Adjust the time, not the ambition.

being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6, BSB