A devotional is often thought of as a private experience: one person, one book, and a quiet moment of reflection. It might happen early in the morning before the rest of the household wakes up, during a quiet evening at home, or in a few peaceful minutes between the demands of the day.
But spiritual reflection does not always have to happen alone.
Michael Justin Lee’s Seeking Sunrise: 100 Days of Prayer for Peace and Hope can also serve as a starting point for meaningful conversations among families, friends, Bible study groups, and faith communities. Published by WestBow Press in 2026, the devotional offers one hundred days of scripture, prayer, and reflection centered on themes such as hope, peace, trust, gratitude, perseverance, and faith.
The structure makes the devotional adaptable to different settings and different kinds of relationships.
A family could use a daily reading as part of a morning or evening routine. Friends could choose to read the same entry and discuss what stood out to them. A Bible study group could use a devotional passage as an introduction to a larger conversation about scripture and faith. A church community could incorporate selected readings into a gathering or prayer group.
The value of a shared devotional experience is not necessarily that everyone will interpret a passage in exactly the same way.
In fact, differences in perspective can create some of the most meaningful conversations.
One person may connect deeply with a message about gratitude. Another may be thinking about uncertainty or a difficult season. Someone else may relate to perseverance, forgiveness, trust, or hope. The same prayer can speak to people differently depending on what they are experiencing at that particular moment.
A short devotional reading can therefore become the beginning of a much larger discussion.
That possibility fits naturally with the format of Seeking Sunrise. Because the book is organized into one hundred daily entries, readers have a clear starting and stopping point for each session. A group does not have to read an entire chapter or complete a lengthy study before beginning a conversation.
A single scripture passage, prayer, or reflection may provide more than enough material.
For families, that can create a simple way to bring faith into everyday routines without making the experience feel complicated.
A family does not necessarily need to organize an elaborate study session. A few minutes around the breakfast table, before bedtime, or during another quiet part of the day could be enough to read or listen to the day’s devotional and ask a simple question:
What stood out to you today?
That question can open the door to conversations about gratitude, challenges, hopes, fears, relationships, and faith.
For parents, it can create an opportunity to hear how children or other family members are thinking about spiritual themes. For couples, it can provide a moment to pause together and discuss what is happening in their lives. For extended families, it can offer a shared practice that connects people even when they are not physically together.
The same concept can work within churches and small groups.
Small-group environments often rely on shared readings to encourage participation and discussion. A devotional format gives participants something concrete to consider while leaving room for personal interpretation.
The themes explored through Seeking Sunrise are particularly suited to this kind of conversation. Subjects such as hope, discouragement, uncertainty, perseverance, gratitude, trust, and faith are not abstract ideas. They are experiences that can affect people at virtually every stage of life.
Consider the theme of hope.
A group discussing hope could include someone celebrating a new beginning, someone waiting for an answer to a difficult situation, someone navigating disappointment, and someone simply looking for encouragement during an ordinary but demanding season.
The same word can therefore carry very different meanings for different people.
That is one reason shared spiritual reflection can be so valuable. It reminds people that while faith is deeply personal, it can also be communal.
People can learn from one another.
They can listen to experiences different from their own.
They can offer encouragement.
And sometimes, simply knowing that another person is reflecting on the same scripture can make an individual feel less alone.
The audiobook adds another dimension to that shared experience.
Not everyone engages with books in the same way, and busy schedules do not always make it possible for everyone in a group to sit down and read at the same time. An audiobook can provide another way to experience the devotional, allowing individuals to listen during a morning routine, a walk, a drive, or another quiet part of the day.
This also creates possibilities for families and groups who may not always be physically together.
A family member could listen to the day’s devotional independently and then discuss it later. Friends could listen to the same entry and reconnect afterward. A group could encourage participants to listen before a meeting and arrive prepared to share their thoughts.
The devotional therefore becomes more flexible without losing its central purpose.
Lee’s musical background adds yet another opportunity for shared reflection. The official Seeking Sunrise theme song, written and performed by Lee, provides a musical counterpart to the devotional experience.
A group could read or listen to a daily devotional entry and then hear the accompanying song as another way of reflecting on the themes presented.
The combination of scripture, prayer, discussion, music, and listening can create a more immersive experience without requiring complicated programming.
There is also a practical advantage to the 100-day format.
A group does not necessarily need to make an open-ended commitment. One hundred days provides a defined journey with a clear beginning, a daily rhythm, and an eventual conclusion.
That structure can make it easier for families, friends, and faith communities to establish a shared routine.
For individuals, it can provide accountability.
Reading or listening to a devotional alongside another person can make it easier to maintain consistency. Participants can check in with one another, share observations, discuss meaningful passages, or simply know that someone else is engaging with the same material.
That sense of shared commitment can transform a personal practice into a community experience.
At its core, Seeking Sunrise is centered on reconnecting with God through scripture and prayer. But the experience does not have to stop at the individual level.
A prayer can become a conversation.
A scripture passage can become a discussion.
A reflection can become encouragement shared between friends.
A difficult season can become an opportunity for someone else to offer support.
And a song can become a moment of collective reflection.
In a world where people are increasingly surrounded by digital communication yet can still feel disconnected, creating intentional opportunities for meaningful conversation can be especially valuable. A shared devotional provides a simple reason to put distractions aside, listen to one another, and consider the things that matter most.
Seeking Sunrise can therefore be more than a 100-day personal devotional. It can become a shared invitation to explore faith together.
Whether experienced through the printed book, digital reading, audiobook, music, or group discussion, the devotional offers families, friends, and faith communities a framework for creating intentional moments of prayer and reflection.
For Michael Justin Lee, the message of Seeking Sunrise extends beyond the individual reader. Each day’s scripture and prayer can become an opportunity for connection—between a person and God, between family members, between friends, and within communities of faith.
One hundred days can create one hundred opportunities to pause, listen, pray, reflect, and connect.
Sometimes the most meaningful conversations begin with something as simple as a shared prayer.
To learn more about Seeking Sunrise, the audiobook, and Michael Justin Lee, visit www.seekingsunrise.com.
