“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 1:2
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight,
He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
Mark 1:35
By the grace of God, we are creatures of habit. Basically, all of us are. We all have habits that we live by, some consciously and some unconsciously. Our lives are filled with habits, like it or not.
The response of some people to this statement is “Actually, I really do not have many habits.” Yet actually, your life is permeated with them. Some habits, you simply don’t think of them as habits.
One definition of a habit is “something that you do often and regularly, sometimes without knowing that you are doing it.” Another definition is “a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously”.
Some obvious habits include getting out of bed every day, brushing your teeth daily, showering daily, getting dressed every day, eating every day, etc. These are habits that many if not most of us have.
Yet what about spiritual habits? What about habits that are important to our lives that help us grow spiritually? How important are they to our lives?
Well, of course, the answer to this question varies from one believer to the next. To some followers of Christ, spiritual habits are vital to their entire lives. For others, they are moderately important. And for others, it’s just not very important at all.
If we are serious disciples of Jesus Christ, our spiritual habits are very important in our lives. They have to be if we are going to faithfully walk with and serve the Lord. What are some of these crucial spiritual habits that we are wise to have? Here are a few.
- Pray daily. Spend significant time in prayer every day. See Mark 1:35.
- Read and meditate in and on the Word daily. Reading 3 chapters from the Word daily is an excellent habit. See Psalm 1.
- Every day obey what you learn from the Word of God. See James 1:22.
- Carry gospel tracts with you wherever you go. Ask the Lord for guidance daily in giving them out. See Mark 16:15.
- Spend significant time worshipping God every day. See Psalm 100.
- Give to bless others every day. See Luke 6:38.
- Ask the Lord to help you walk in the love of Christ every day. See I Corinthians 13.
- Attend worship service and Bible study weekly. See Hebrews 10:25.
These are a few spiritual habits a disciple would be wise to seek to make a part of their daily life and lifestyle.
Who lives out all of these Spiritual habits every day? Well maybe not as many as one would hope, but we are wise to strive to walk in wise Spiritual habits like these. Perhaps you’re already doing some and are wondering which or how many to add and/or how to fit them into your schedule.
Let’s visit James 1:2-5 for encouragement and guidance with those concerns:
Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let the steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
These spiritual habits can help to steady and strengthen your walk with God.
Too many believers have been wounded or shot down on the battlefield of life largely because they were not adequately prepared for battle. These kinds of habits help us put on the full armor of God (read Eph. 6:10-20) and equip ourselves for the battles of life. Let's strive daily to be well-equipped soldiers.
