How apps took me from a Sunday worshipper to a daily devoted Christian

At ten years old, I received a children’s Bible from my family’s church. I loved to read the passages and stories in the downtime between playing outside with my friends and having family dinner. I also attended Sunday school and went to church camp on summer breaks. I said my nightly prayers, and we read Scripture and prayed before each meal. As a child, participating in all of these activities made me feel like God was a constant presence in my life. I frequently thought about God, and He was a large part of my developing worldview.

As I grew older, one by one, I dropped these practices until I had left behind the Christian life almost entirely. Slowly but surely, I have found my way back home in the past two decades. I attend church regularly and pray before eating, but during the long days of lockdown during the pandemic, it occurred to me that I was missing something.

I started looking to technology to add Scripture, worship, praise, and prayer back into my daily life.

I longed for the constant thoughts about God and the promises and answers about life found in Scripture. It was as if I was going from Sunday to Sunday with very little sustenance to keep me in the Christian life and mindset during the six days without worship. Since everything (including my church services) had moved online, I started looking to technology to add Scripture, worship, praise, and prayer back into my daily life.

Without too much effort, I found an app with a free version called Soulspace, and I downloaded it to my phone. It has Christian meditations and recently added a feature called, The Bible in 100 Days. Now, instead of scrolling mindlessly on social media, when I have a few free minutes, I can open the app and listen to a meditation designed to focus my attention on the Word of God.

Each night before we go to sleep, my husband and I listen to the stories from the Bible. We have become reacquainted with Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Solomon. The 100-day feature starts with Genesis and goes through the New Testament. When we have completed the 100 days, we plan to start and listen to it one more time before researching and downloading another app with a program to read the Bible in one year.

Between these two applications, I have gone from feeling a six-day gap in my faith to feeling connected, renewed, and guided by the Word of God and His Spirit.

Listening to someone else read stories and Scripture passages have become a much-loved bedtime routine that my husband and I share, and we don’t want to give it up when the fast approaching 100 days come to an end.

Recently I downloaded another app with a free version called Abide that offers stories, meditations, and Bible readings. Although this app sound similar to Soulspace, they provide a wide variety of materials. Between these two applications, I have gone from feeling a six-day gap in my faith to feeling connected, renewed, and guided by the Word of God and His Spirit.

I’ve captured some of the joy, mystery, and security of digging deep into my faith each day. Only this time, my beliefs have grown from childhood to adulthood. Who would have guessed technology could play a part in helping me recover the feeling of God’s presence and my devotion?