What You Actually Get When You Use God Calling
AJ Russell's God Calling is a devotional app and book pairing that delivers daily readings meant for shared morning or evening devotion between two people. It's structured around a theme, a short passage, and a prayer prompt. The concept is straightforward enough, but the execution has some quirks that catch people off guard if you aren't expecting them. The app is free on both the App Store and Google Play. You don't need an account to use the core features, which is unusual these days and worth noting. The companion book costs about eighteen dollars on Amazon or at most Christian bookstores. If you want the physical version, the ISBN is 978-1434772690 for the standard edition. Here's something most reviews won't tell you: the app and the book are not perfectly synchronized. The book contains extended versions of some entries and omits others that appear in the app. I ran into this when my devotional partner was reading from the book while I was on the phone version. We'd be halfway through a reflection before realizing we were on completely different texts. The workaround is simple — just pick one source and stick with it. The app is generally more updated, so that's where I'd start.
How the Format Actually Works
Each daily entry pulls from Scripture, a short devotional piece, and a prayer focus. Two people are meant to read and discuss it together. The theme-based approach means entries are grouped around topics like forgiveness, purpose, anxiety, and relationships rather than following a strict Bible reading plan chronologically. That's a deliberate design choice. Russell wanted people to engage with specific life situations, not just check off chapters. The devotional sections come from various contributors, not just Russell himself. Some days you'll get a longer reflection, other days a few paragraphs. The prayer prompts at the end are open-ended, which works for most people but can feel vague if you're used to structured prayer models like the ACTS method. I should mention a real limitation here. The app has no offline mode unless you manually bookmark entries. I've been caught on flights and in areas with poor reception trying to access the daily reading and hitting a wall. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's frustrating. The workaround is opening the entry the night before and taking a screenshot or copying the text into a notes app. Yes, it's a hack, but it works.
What People Miss About This Devotional
The biggest thing beginners overlook is that the discussion questions are intentionally open. They're not designed for quick answers. If you're rushing through your morning routine and treating this like a checkbox exercise, you'll get very little out of it. The format expects you to sit with the material for at least ten to fifteen minutes per session, sometimes longer depending on how deep the conversation goes. Another counter-intuitive point: the two-person structure isn't just a recommendation. It's built into the design. Reading this alone is fine and many people do it, but you're missing the primary mechanic. The devotional passages are written to be discussed, not consumed in silence. The prayer prompts especially fall flat without someone to pray through them with you. If you're using this solo anyway, I'd suggest pairing it with a different devotional that's designed for individual use. There's no shame in that. God Calling works best in its intended format, and if you're not in a position for that, you're better off with something else rather than forcing it.
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Practical Tips That Actually Help
Consistency matters more than depth here. Reading every day for five minutes beats once a week for twenty. The themes recycle across cycles, so falling behind means you'll read the same entry twice within a few months. Set a reminder on your phone. Use the notification feature in the app to ping you at a consistent time. Even thirty seconds of nudging your phone to open the app makes a real difference over a year. The search function is basic but functional. If you're going through a rough patch with a specific issue — marriage strain, grief, financial stress — you can filter entries by theme. It won't give you a curated list, but it narrows things down enough to find relevant material quickly. Don't skip the prayer section. The devotional writing is solid, but the prayer prompts are where the actual spiritual work happens. That's the part that moves you from reading about something to engaging with it. I've seen too many people glide past this and come away feeling like they got nothing out of the session.
God Calling By Aj Russell is a decent devotional for its target audience. It's not groundbreaking, it's not deeply theological, and it doesn't claim to be. If you want something heavier, look at classic devotional authors like Charles Spurgeon or Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is accessible, practical, and designed for relationship building through shared spiritual practice. That's a valid need, and it fills it adequately.
