Rule 5:  THE PROCESS SHOULD VARY.  This is a hard rule for me to write about because I have ruined more great periods of walking with God by trying to make my walk perfect than by any other way.  Sometimes the perfect really is the enemy of the good.  I have, at times, been so interested in getting my walk exactly right that I did not enjoy the rightness, imperfect though it might have been, that I had already achieved.  While overt rebellion in the sense that I am just unwilling to have a devotional life has never been my problem, wanting it to be perfect has.  This caused me to change things when I read about how other people did it instead of being satisfied with what God had led my time with Him to be. 

 That being said, if your walk with God becomes stale, don’t be afraid to vary it.  You may be surprised what a small change will make such as reading a different version of the Bible, throwing away your old prayer list no matter how guilty you feel about doing so and then starting over with a fresh prayer list, sitting in a different room, getting up a little earlier, staying up a little later, listening to music, or having your walk with God at lunch.

 Getting to know people who have a quality walk with God can also help give you guidance in the development of your time with Him.  Don’t be ashamed to admit any frustrations or failures to them or to ask them for advice.  They’ll need some from you before it’s all over.

I hope these rules have helped you.  I would love to hear from you about whether you’ve installed some of them or whether you’ve discovered some of your own.  What really works for you in your time with God?  Let me hear from you.