The suffering of OCD can be so intense and overwhelming that focus on nearly anything that doesn’t demand attention can be difficult. One of the many impacts can be struggling to keep up (or start) a devotional life—living day-by-day in devotion to God.

I will stay simple here and say flexibility is critical. God knows where you are and knows your suffering. A big leap of faith is to be where you are and trust in God.

Psalm 145:8-9:

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
 The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

When clients are deep in the throes of their OCD, I often recommend structure and boundaries for devotional time, just like any other time that can fall prey to overthinking and analyzing feelings. Spending time in prayer, reading Scripture, meditating, or any other spiritual discipline can open oneself up to both the joy of the Spirit or the terror of intrusive thoughts and fears.

A Few Tips

Both in ERP and spiritual disciplines, as much as we may desire total freedom and flexibility to move “as the spirit leads,” start simple.

I also really like My Utmost for His Highest—a classic Christian devotional and one of the devotional bestsellers of all time. It follows a daily format (365 devotions—one for each day of the year). The other is the The Book of Common Prayer. You can use any devotional, including some of the books below.  The Gospel of John is often excellent for new believers or those looking to brush up on the basics of the Gospel and many of Jesus’ teachings.

• Identify your compulsions first. Don’t do something “devotional” if it’s a compulsion. Compulsive prayer is a compulsion, not prayer. (Cf. Matthew 6:7)
  
• Identify where you are in your spiritual practices and where you’d like to grow. If you struggle to focus for more than 5 minutes without spinning out in rumination, start with 4 minutes and 59 seconds and go from there.
• Use Values Clarification if you have no idea what you’re doing, but ideally, do it in a community with wisdom from a faith leader(s).
• Take extra help from grace and God’s kindness along with you.
• Identify what you’re NOT doing and how ERP (or the spirit of it) might be done pursuing devotion to Christ.
  • E.g., Even if you’re not compulsing actively, you may recognize a tendency to freeze up in analysis or spin your wheels, spending a certain length of time in prayer or reading. Instead, try a daily devotional, set a time to pray, practice mindfulness to redirect that time from any distractions of focus, then move to the next thing. Try: 5 min. reading, 3 min. of prayer, then move on. Or move up or down depending on where you are and what you can handle without “spinning out.”

My most profound blessings to you as you move towards greater devotion and less compulsion. I echo the words in Numbers 6:24-26:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

What devotionals or spiritual disciplines do you find especially helpful if you have OCD? Let me know in the comments!

*My resources are often from my tradition, which I share openly for transparency so you can agree or disagree freely. I am a member of an evangelical non-denominational Bible Church—but ultimately a member of the Church universal, the “Bride of Christ” (Ephesians 5:25-27). There are Christians of many traditions, and I hope you don’t feel left out with resources that don’t always include the full spectrum. Please let me know anything you might find helpful, including from other traditions (Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, etc.).

Book Ideas (Click on the image)

[Affiliate links where I might earn a commission if you purchase through them. Please see full disclaimer.]

ESV Journaling Bible

This is the very same Bible I use and love after many years and many Bibles.

The Book of Common Prayer

The free pdf is above—there is no need to buy unless you like a physical copy.

Jesus Calling

Another modern classic, daily devotional.

Gentle and Lowly

It is commonly recommended to me by Christians who suffer.