Building Habits To Grow In Faith
This year I decided that I needed to start my New Year’s resolutions a little bit early. Like a lot of people, my activity level has significantly decreased over the past year, partly due to not going to the gym and partly due to no longer walking around a school for seven hours a day.
My reasoning for wanting to be more active has to do with a favorite hobby. Traveling is one of my favorite things. I am at my best exploring a new city or a national park from sunrise until the moment late in the evening when I can’t possibly stay on my feet anymore. I realized that if I didn’t become more active, this kind of adventure would become difficult for me whenever I can travel again.
I know that being more active is good for my mental and physical health, but after two weeks of doing a workout video consistently, there haven’t been any major changes in how I look or how I feel. The results haven’t been dramatic. Even though I knew that it wasn’t realistic, I still had the thought in the back of my mind that I would look and feel completely different very quickly. I’ve had to remind myself that I’m not doing this for short-term results.
It’s made me realize how much I want instant results in everything that I do, including my relationship with God. I like to make elaborate plans for how I’m going to grow in my faith at the beginning of every year. I find a new Bible reading plan, pull out a new notebook, and seek out some popular book that I think will change me. I decide that I’m going to wake up earlier every day to have quiet time.
When I finish my first morning of Bible reading and prayer, I don’t feel more connected to God or changed. I want to see the effects of my efforts immediately even though I know that isn’t what I should be expecting. There are moments when one prayer or one flash of understanding of a Bible passage does significantly change our lives right away, but those times don’t happen every single day. We have to keep returning to God every single day, even when we can’t see how He is shaping us.
“O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:1-3, NLT).
In this psalm, it is clear that David speaks to God on a frequent basis. In his own words, he prays to God “each morning.” He doesn’t always get an answer to his prayers, but he continues to wait, knowing God is working.
This mindset of patient expectation is what we must bring to our quiet times with God. He is listening to us and changing us each time that we come to Him. We just don’t always notice the process.
Let’s make this the year when we consistently show up to listen and learn from God. Let’s be ready each day knowing that God is working in us even during the times that we can’t tell any difference at all. And let’s celebrate the moments when we do feel God’s presence in us.
In the new year, I am focusing on two main things when it comes to building a habit of quiet time with God: consistency and patience.
Consistency to bring ourselves before God, and patience to wait for an answer to our prayers. They make a world of difference in the maturity of our faith.
How are you building up habits to spend more time in God’s presence in 2021?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth is an educator at heart. So far this has taken the form of a camp counselor, a museum assistant, and currently a middle school teacher. She loves to watch people grow and learn. You can read more of her writing at her blog Chronicles Of A Southern Belle.