5 holy habits I do every week

Being a Christian is not easy, especially in the world we live in today which promotes ways of living which are so against Biblical teaching. I've been on a journey in the last couple of months, as I felt challenged that I wasn't living my life according to scripture, I was going to church on Sunday and then the rest of the time I was reacting, responding and living as if I wasn't a Christian. I want to make it clear that I wasn't purposely trying to live a life that wasn't for God, I just wasn't actively making daily/weekly decisions that re-centered my mind and my heart to God and in His calling for my life and how I should live my life. 

I was listening to a sermon the other day and it was talking about 'holy habits', I had never heard that phrase before and I wasn't quite sure what it meant at first. Essentially holy habits are daily or weekly things you chose to do which aligns your life to the teachings of the Bible and to the way we are called to live. It helps you connect to God, hear His voice and receive His guidance for your life. I decided to adopt some of the holy habits I heard about and when I say it's transformed my faith and my life I am not exaggerating. I'm experiencing wonderful peace in what is a very overwhelming season of my life, my marriage is thriving and I feel like I'm living life with purpose and with a plan. Today I want to share 5 holy habits I've adopted in hopes it will encourage you to adopt some too, so your faith can be strengthened.

Holy Habit #1 - Read the Bible every day

I'm ashamed to say I haven't read my Bible in over a year. I would hear scripture quoted at church, but I hadn't personally consumed it. You're probably like me, thinking, this is such an obvious habit to have as a Christian, yet many of us fail to read the Word God has given us. Sometimes when we pray or seek the Holy Spirit we can easily be mislead due to our discernment or misconception, however I believe when we read the Bible it is perfectly clear who God is and what He wants of us, yet so many of us lack knowledge of the Bible. I have started reading the Bible every day, I wake up earlier and follow a plan on the Bible app. It is a wonderful way to start my day, before anyone can speak over me I have soaked in how God sees me and how He wants me to live my life. I want to make it clear, I only spend around 15 minutes reading the Bible, I don't sit and absorb it for hours, but even just offering a small amount of time I have received amazing blessing and wisdom. I'd encourage you to adopt this holy habit, as I'm sure it'll impact your life the way it has impacted mine.

Holy Habit #2 - Prayer

Prayer is crucial, it is the way we communicate with God and often the primary way we hear His voice and guidance for our personal situations. I want to dive a bit deeper into prayer though, simply spending 5 minutes asking God to do X,Y,Z in your life is not how we should approach prayer. It is important to ask God for the things we desire, if it's according to His Word, however at first we should thank Him and glorify Him for everything He has blessed us with. This is how my prayer life has changed, it's gone from being purely selfish, to being honoring to God. Of course I still ask for God to provide and to bless me and those I love, but that isn't where I start and it's now not my primary reason for praying to Him. Through praying this way I have noticed wonderful guidance and discernment, and I also have felt convicted when I've done unkind things or things not in a manor pleasing to God.

Holy Habit #3 - Sabbath

I'd like to say every Saturday Andy and I Sabbath and take time to rest in God's presence but I would be lying. Life at the moment is slightly chaotic, our house has been on the market since January and we are towards the end of our house being sold. Andy and I both decided we want to practice having a Sabbath day every week and we hope to make this more of a regular, more disciplined habit once we are settled into our new home. However in the meantime I'm taking what I like to call 'mini Sabbaths', this could be taking a few hours to go on a walk, or cooking in advance so we don't need to cook every night. Sabbath is about reducing the work and intake of every day life so you can set time aside for rest with God. That can be beneficial even if it just a few hours on the weekend admiring His creation by going for a walk.

Holy Habit #4 - Regular church attendance

I went through a period of time last year where church didn't fill me with joy. I would often debate whether to go or not, and the times I did go I felt half engaged. I've been challenged recently at the importance of fellowship and prioritizing worshiping God. One thing I do believe in is that church isn't the only time we should be spending time with other believers and worshiping God, however having a set time every week can help you create those disciplines in your life. Some Sunday mornings it could be tempting to do other things, such as meet a friend for brunch, or have a lazy morning at home, however if we can't offer God a few hours once a week I think that demonstrates that we aren't going to offer him much of our time the rest of the week either. Church is where we get filled up to go out and tackle the week ahead, the scripture may give us wisdom for a problem we'll face, the worship may remind us that even though life is hard God is with us through those hardships. Church is essential and it should a holy habit we priortise. 

Holy Habit #5 - Be open to the Holy Spirit's movement in my life

This has been a challenging one, but a habit I am starting to see grow in my life and this is primarily because I am adopting the four other habits I've mentioned. I don't want to lead my own life, as I often want things that will disappoint, or I'll lead myself on a path that will cause me harm. I recently heard a pastor say we need thick skin but sensitive hearts, we need a thick skin to face life's challenges, but we need a heart that is sensitive enough to hear the Holy Spirit's guidance. I'll give you a personal example, the other day I made a comment on a Facebook post in a community chat, someone was asking for help as they may be made homeless soon. I sent a response and in return I got rude, nasty comments and if I'm being honest I don't quite understand why as nothing I said deserved those responses. I started typing a response in anger as I was upset and didn't want them to get away with speaking in such a rude manor. In that moment before clicking send I got this nudge, which I believe was the Holy Spirit. I was overcome with a sense of sadness for the woman who made the nasty comment, as her life was clearly not in a good place. I believe a couple months ago I would have pressed send and probably faced backlash, but instead I stepped away, removed notifications from that post and said a silent prayer for the woman. Please don't read this like I'm bragging, but please read that in that moment God nudged me to act in a more mature way, in a way He would want and that's how I want to live every day, in the way He would want. That can only come through being open to the Holy Spirit and often that comes from adding holy habits to your every day life, that's when you see change.

I feel the best I've felt in ages and looking back I think I was spiritually dry, I needed watering and throughout my years being a Christian I've learnt that no ones going to come and hydrate me, I need to hydrate myself. If you're feeling spiritually dry I'd encourage you to incorporate some of these holy habits into your weekly life and I pray what happened to me, will also happen to you. 

Next Blog: Real Talk: Submission in marriage