![The template open in Strokes: the title “[Title that names the point]” over a picture of morning light over a quiet field, a path leading toward low hills.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-light.cb9a121e.webp&w=3840&q=75)
![The template open in Strokes: the title “[Title that names the point]” over a picture of morning light over a quiet field, a path leading toward low hills.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-dark.2d374544.webp&w=3840&q=75)
When to use it
- A daily devotional for a church newsletter, blog or email list
- A 30-day, Advent or Lent series, written one file per day
- A short devotional to open a staff meeting, board meeting or small group
- Drafting a meditation to submit to a devotional publication
- Your own quiet time, with the SOAP headings in place of the story
How to use this template
- Start with the writer's notes
Read the whole chapter around your passage, then fill in the point in one sentence before you write anything above it. If the point takes two sentences, you have two devotionals; save one for tomorrow. The notes sit at the bottom so you can delete them in one go when the piece is done.
- Copy the verse, then write the story
Paste the key verse from one translation and check it word for word. Then write the story before the turn: it is the part readers remember and the part most likely to run long. The word counts in the brackets add up to about 250 to 450 words.
- End small
For today names one thing to do before tonight. The prayer borrows a word from the verse so the two echo each other, and the thought to carry is the point again, shorter.
- Rest it, read it aloud, clear the brackets
Leave the draft for a day, read it aloud and tick the checklist. Then delete the writer's notes, any bracketed guidance and Going deeper if you don't need it. If you are writing for a publication, its guidelines on length and translation override every number here.
A filled-in example
The template filled in for a church newsletter, about 330 words. The story is fictional; the Scripture is from the King James Version, which is public domain in the United States.
Steady until the going down of the sun
Read Exodus 17:8–13.
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. (Exodus 17:12, KJV)
The week my sister brought her twins home, she called me at two in the morning and didn't say anything for a while. I drove over in my coat and pajamas. I didn't fix anything. I couldn't feed them, and I didn't know which cry meant what. I sat on the end of the couch and held whichever baby wasn't eating, and when she fell asleep sitting up, I held both. At six she opened her eyes, looked at me and said, "You stayed." That was all my help amounted to: a place to sit and a second pair of arms.
Israel was fighting Amalek at Rephidim, and the battle turned on Moses' raised hands: up, and Israel prevailed; down, and Amalek did. Moses could not hold them up all day. Nobody could. So Aaron and Hur did two plain things. They found him a stone to sit on, and they stood on either side and held his arms until sunset. Joshua fought the battle and Moses held the rod, but the hands were steady because two people stood still beside him for hours. And Moses had to sit down and let them.
For today: Think of one person whose hands are heavy this week: a new parent, a caregiver, someone in the first month of a hard job. Offer one specific thing with a day attached, such as dinner on Thursday or the school pickup on Monday.
Prayer: Lord, show me whose hands are heavy today, and keep me steady beside them. When mine are heavy, give me the humility to sit down and be helped. Amen.
Thought to carry: Sometimes the help is a stone to sit on and someone who stays.
Going deeper: Also read Galatians 6:2. Who held up your arms in a hard season, and have they heard it from you?
Why it works
- The title is the verse's last phrase, so the reader meets it twice and the point is in the title before the first line.
- The story and the passage are about the same act, staying put, and the writer's help in the story is as unglamorous as Aaron's.
- The turn gives only the background a reader needs and notices the detail most readers skip: the stone, and Moses accepting it.
- The action has a day attached, so it can happen this week rather than someday.
Adapt it to how you'll use it
The template is built for a devotional someone else will read. The same page works for other kinds of devotional writing with a few headings changed.
| Use | Sections | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| UseNewsletter, blog or booklet | SectionsScripture, Reflection, For today, Prayer, Thought to carry | What changesNothing; use it as is |
| UseYour own quiet time (SOAP) | SectionsScripture, Observation, Application, Prayer | What changesNotes on the text replace the story |
| UseLectio divina | SectionsRead, Meditate, Pray, Contemplate | What changesOne short passage, read slowly several times |
| UseSmall group or meeting opener | SectionsThis template plus Going deeper | What changesTwo or three open questions |
| Use30-day, Advent or Lent series | SectionsThis template, one file per day | What changesA plan table before you draft |
SOAP is a common pattern for personal Bible-reading journals: copy out the verse that stopped you, write what you observe in it, decide one way to apply it, and pray. Lectio divina is older: its four movements of reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation were set down by Guigo II, a 12th-century Carthusian prior, in a letter known as The Ladder of Monks. For your own reading, this SOAP page is enough:
SOAP journal page (Markdown)
# [Date] — [Book chapter:verse–verse]
## Scripture
> [The verse that stopped you, copied out in full]
## Observation
- [What happens in the passage: who, where, what]
- [A word or detail you hadn't noticed before]
## Application
[One thing to do or change today]
## Prayer
[A few sentences in your own words]For a series, plan before you draft: a table with the day, the passage, the one-sentence point and a story idea shows where two days make the same point and where three stories in a row come from your kitchen. In Strokes, a series fits in one project, a document per day, and exports to PDF for a printed booklet or EPUB for e-readers. The guide to writing a devotional has entry counts for Advent and Lent.
What good looks like
Most weak devotionals fail at the end, not the start. The application is a general wish, so the reader closes the page with nothing to do.
For today, specific
- Offer one person one hour this week, and name the day
- Read Exodus 17 again tonight and underline every verb
- Eat lunch away from your desk today
For today, vague
- Be there for others
- Spend more time in the Word
- Trust God more
- Scripture. Quote the whole verse, not the half that suits you, and name the translation every time. If you put it in your own words, call it a paraphrase and drop the quotation marks.
- Reflection. One afternoon with objects in it beats a paragraph about life's storms. It is show, don't tell at the scale of 150 words.
- Prayer. Don't summarize the devotional again. If every prayer you write is a request, the old ACTS checklist (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) is a quick test for range.
- Series. Keep a short style sheet: the translation, how references are written (Exodus 17:12 or Ex 17:12) and whether pronouns for God are capitalized. Readers notice when day 9 differs from day 8.
Frequently asked questions
What should a devotional include?
Most devotionals have five parts: a Bible passage with one key verse quoted exactly, a short reflection that pairs a story with the passage, one thing to do today, a brief prayer, and a one-line takeaway. Devotionals for groups often add two or three discussion questions.
How long should a devotional be?
Most daily devotionals run about 250 to 450 words, short enough to read in two or three minutes. If you are writing for a publication, its writer's guidelines set the limit; follow them over any general number.
Which Bible translation should I quote?
Any, as long as you quote one consistently and name it. In the United States the King James Version, American Standard Version and World English Bible are public domain. Modern translations such as the ESV and NIV are copyrighted and allow limited quotation with a notice, so check the publisher's current permissions before you print.
Is a devotional the same as a SOAP Bible study?
They are close. SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) is for your own reading: you write observations about the text. A devotional written for other people replaces the observations with a story and a turn back to the passage. The SOAP version of this template is on this page.
