What Is A Habit?
Habits are the building block of our daily lives and are an intricate part of who we are on a day-to-day basis. As Christians, godly habits are even more important as they help us live godly lives every single day.
Habits are formed when a person repeats an action over and over again. Over the course of time, usually between 20-30, this action becomes a habit.
Whether the habit is beneficial is dependent on the person’s point of view and what they consider to be good or helpful.
Healthy Godly Habits Vs. Unhealthy Habits
What makes for a healthy habit is when the action is done by the person is helpful. The most beneficial habits for Christians are Godly habits.
Godly habits will not naturally happen on their own but are instead cultivated and purposeful by the Christian.
In order to create good godly habits, a person must trust God completely, otherwise, they won’t be able to stick with an action, such as Bible reading and prayer, long enough in order to form it into a habit.
Unhealthy habits need no help in forming as they come into existence by no self-will of the person. These habits can come in the form of addictions, time-wasters, and other useless things that serve no benefit to the person who has formed them.
What Does The Bible Say About Habits?
The Bible is full of commands and instructions to Christians on habits. For starters, as Christians, it’s important not to waste time on unhealthy habits.
God commands us to be careful how we live.
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15
Further on in the fifth chapter of Ephesians, the chapter explains to us about unwise habits along with habits that we ought to have as Christians.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 5:17-20
We are to be wise and not wasteful of our time, this comes through having godly habits that are a part of each and every day of our lives.
How Habits Impact Your Trust of God
Through godly habits such as reading the Bible daily, our trust in God will grow in leaps in bounds as we learn more about who He is, what He has done, and what He is going to do in the future.
The more we grow in our knowledge of God, we have a propensity to rely on Him more, forming a habit of godly living.
In Romans, Paul commands the reader to grow in the habit of renewing your mind.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2
It’s through a daily habit of renewing our minds that we are able to know God’s perfect will in our lives.
How Does David Show His Trust in God?
God’s Word, and more specifically, the life of David shows a man who was trusting in God time and time again. David had a habit of relying upon and trusting in God no matter the giant he faced in life.
In the book of Psalm, we get a glimpse into the heart of David and His reliance on God alone.
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
Psalm 62:5-7
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
How did David get to this point in his life though? We have to step back and look into the life of David in order to get a clear picture of how this man of God, who was referred to as a man after God’s own heart, arrived at this place.
First, we must go to the famous story of David and Goliath, but before David does battle, he has an interesting conversation with Saul which shines a light on his mindset and early habits of trusting God.
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
1 Samuel 17:34-36
In David’s time tending his father’s sheep, he was dealing with lions and bears. He was killing them with bold confidence. Notice David’s focus as he shifts to the philistine. It’s on God.
You see, David had the habit early on in his life of remembering that if God is on your side, nothing can stand against you.
This mindset wasn’t luck or chance, but instead David’s habit and heart for relying on God.
It wasn’t just this time that David relied upon the Lord, another great instance we see is later on in 1 Samuel chapter thirty.
6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
1 Samuel 30:6
He had the habit of turning to God in times of difficulty, times of uncertainty.
David wasn’t perfect, but he did have the godly habit of relying on God. We can all learn a lesson from David and learn to develop good godly habits that will carry us through life’s ups and downs.
How Do You Develop Godly Habits?
Developing godly habits requires us to implement what we know to be true and right according to God. The first two habits of any Christian should be Bible reading and prayer. These should be daily habits.
If you’re struggling in this area, let me share with you a couple of tips to get you going in the right direction.
- Set aside dedicated time for reading the Bible and praying
- Do it the same time every single day
- Don’t turn it into a chore, but focus on areas of Scripture and prayer that interest you (for now)
- Ask God for help
- Get into the habit of praying when things go wrong or good.
The book of Psalm is a great book in the Bible to see godly habits and how to form them.
David had the habit of blessing the Lord. He accomplished this by continuously keeping praise on his lips and his focus on God. We can follow his lead and praise God throughout the day.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
Psalm 34:1
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
David had the habit of going to God in the morning. He did this by making God a priority first thing every single day. We can follow his lead and do the same. Before we even step out of bed, lift a heart of prayer and thanks to God.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
Psalm 5:3
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
Developing Godly Habits That Produce Fruit
It’s important to remember that you don’t always reap in the same season you sow seeds.
Meaning if you’re building habits of prayer and Bible reading, hoping to grow in your relationship with God, knowledge of who He is, and so forth, it’s not necessarily going to happen overnight.
If you start going to church, this doesn’t mean your spouse with automatically start going.
Don’t be discouraged.
Every journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step and this is your single step.
Keep going and don’t give up. It’s a worthy endeavor to grow in godly habits.
Avoid Becoming A Pharisee
This warning is important and I hope you don’t miss it.
The Pharisees were obsessed with the outward appearance of themselves. A lot of what they were doing was supposed to be “for the glory of God” but in turn, it was for the glory of themselves.
A great way to avoid this happening is to never let yourself do a task for the sheer act of doing it to “mark it off” the list.
When praying, pray with your heart open to God.
When you read the Bible, seek God with an open and curious heart for what He has to say to you.
If you’re just going through motions, it’s not only an unhealthy habit, it’s a waste of time and doesn’t please or bring God any honor at all.