"We first make our habits,
then our habits make us"
Hi friends! Great to be back here. I'm glad you are here too!
While praying about what to write, it was laid on my heart to encourage you with these simple but powerful daily habits that will totally transform your spiritual life. I pray that the Spirit of God will help you to read between the lines and get much more than the seven habits I have written here, and also grant you the grace to practice them till they become part of you!
The secrets to living a strong, victorious Christian live are not hidden from us. They are just embedded in simple everyday habits. However they do not become habits if we are inconsistent, or unintentional about them.
Simple daily routines most of the time determine our results in many areas of life. For instance, your daily facials will definitely result in smooth face. There is no super formula to becoming that strong Christian you wish to be. God will not send you an almighty one time use formula that will just transform you from feeble to powerful Christian. No. We grow by indulging in daily healthy habits that makes for continuous growth. Anointed daily habits produces a glorious life.
I will be sharing 7 healthy habits of Growing Believers as the topic says, and I really know this will charge you to take your spiritual health and strength seriously by making decisions to inculcate them. Amen!
So come along with me.
HABIT 1. FEED YOUR SPIRIT.
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".
Matthew 4:4 KJV
I really love the way The Passion Translation puts it, He answered, “The Scriptures say: Bread alone will not satisfy, but true life is found in every word, which constantly goes forth from God’s mouth.” Matthew 4:4 TPT.
God is constantly speaking to our spirit through his word (written and unwritten). And He is not just speaking just because He wants to, but so He can instruct us into all truth which produce, light, clarity, liberty, and abundant life.
The devil also speaks. And he seem to use every medium possible. Social media, entertainment industry, some books, you name it! He is trying to get your attention just so he can steal, kill and destroy you and everything God has for you! Therefore it is imperative that you be careful of what you feed off. Not everything that pops up must get your attention to the point of feeding your spirit with it.
God's word feeds you with LIFE, the devil is here to KILL you!
Make a conscious effort to arrange your schedule around the Word, instead of fitting the Word into one little corner of your busy life.
Make a list of those things you feed on but you know are not beneficial to your spiritual health. Then go ahead and prayerfully cross them out on the list and also in your heart, making up your mind not to go back to them.
HABITS 2. CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” –Joshua 1:8, NKJV
Is your thought life healthy or toxic? The mind, spirit and body are interconnected— your thoughts affect your words, which affect your health, prosperity, joy, peace and every other area of your life. So, it is worth taking the time to perfect!
Make conscious efforts to think on good things in spite of what the news says, what is happening around or what is not.
That which you feed on will definitely affect your thoughts, which eventually makes/mar you. So going back to HABIT 1. above, consistent contact with the Word of God creates a healthy and strong Spirit which makes for a healthy mind.
This scripture that talks about bringing every thoughts to the obedience of Christ. Meaning if those thought pops into my head and it doesn't obey or align with the mind of Christ, I'm done with it. I'm holding it captive right away into a structured mind in Christ, I don't want to run the risk of nurturing it till it grows so powerful enough to hold me captive, leading me into darkness.
Make a list of all the uncomely thoughts in your head, cross them out on the list and in your heart. Then make sure you don't leave those spaces blank in your heart. Replace them with the Word of God.
HABIT 3. SPEAK THE WORD.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” –Proverbs 18:21, NKJV
You are what you eat they say, but the Bible takes it further to say; You are what you speak (Mark 11:23)
God has already provided you this power and authority through the word. Do you intend to waste it? Strong Christians speak the Word and only the Word over their lives and the lives of those around them. A conscious effort of muttering the promises of God over your live and loved ones at intervals as you go about your day to day activity is a great way to mastering this habit.
You also get practice this in the place of prayer. Just speaking the life giving word over you, yours, and situations around you.
To get to a place where you speak the Word over you, loved ones or situations, work on mastering the first two habits. Speaking the Word will become your knee- jerk reaction when you feed on the Word on a daily basis. It will be as the water at the mouth of the tap, ready to gush out as soon as it is opened.
"No matter what you’re faced with, speak healing, speak blessing, speak abundance, speak forgiveness, speak peace. Speak the Word again and again and again and again. Fire off Scripture like a machine gun. Confess God’s Word in faith—it will change your life" KCM.
HABIT 4. BUILD YOUR FAITH
David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” –1 Samuel 30:6, AMPC
Faith is your responsibility. It isn't anybody's. Only one who can guarantee that you enjoy a strong faith is YOU.
So how do you build a strong faith? God has not left you ignorant of the tools to build a strong faith—the kind of faith that moves mountains, shuts the mouths of lions, quenches the flames of fire, turns weakness to strength, and puts whole armies to flight (Hebrews 11:33-34).
The tools are; the Word and Repetitive hearing(reading). Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing, the word of God! (Romans 10:17). Feeding your faith is the seed; hearing it again and again is how you water the seed and grow/build your faith. Building a group of muscles requires repetition (Reps) of the same set of workout, in the same vein you need Reps of the Word of God to build your faith.
Repetition(of the word) is the key to building strong faith.
To build your faith, try incorporating listening to faith based podcasts and teachings, audio versions of the Bible while driving, on your lunch break,working out, or just taking a walk. Just feed your faith at the minutest opportunity you get!
As you feed your spirit, do not be ignorant of the fact that as faith comes by hearing, so does doubt. So, again, make conscious effort to block off every form and elements of doubts around you. Even if it seem believable, refuse to consume or believe anything contrary to the precious Word you’ve sown into your heart. Guard it diligently! As you do so, Faith increases, and Victory abounds!
HABIT 5. ANCHOR YOUR HEART THROUGH PRAISE.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” –Psalm 34:1, NKJV
Praise is a language. It is a language of faith and a language of receiving. A strong Christian is fluent in praise. And that's why we’re called to bless the Lord at all times (Psalm 34:1) because no matter what is happening in our lives, we have countless reasons to thank Him for what He has done, what He is doing, and what we know He will do.
If praise is your language, then that means, you 'speak' it at all times. When things are good and when they are not. When you have received from God and when you are still waiting.
Praise gives you access to God. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. This is where every of your spiritual experiences, revelations, growth, blessings flow from. From God. So you want to really GET YOUR PRAISE ON!
Praise is inner health made audible. A healthy spiritual life naturally produces sounds of praise to God. This depict that you have complete joy and contentment in God.
There is a also a connection between praise and strength. A spirit of praise is a joyful spirit- full of God's joy. And the Bible says the joy of the Lord is your strength! (Nehemiah 8:10). Praise produces spiritual strength.
How can you incorporate praise into your every day life? You can turn on praise music while you clean the house, while you are in the car, while you are cooking in the kitchen, while you are sitting by the pool. You can praise Him before your prayer or Bible Study time. You can sing to Him before you pray. You can praise Him before you open your Bible. You can turn on praise music as you are driving to church. Randomly burst into praise before Him. Simply let praises rise up within you to Him at all times.
"I wonder if we’d ever get so excited over Jesus, and what He’s done for us, that we’d have to release the pressure of excitement in shouts of praise.” - Judson Cornwall in Let Us Praise.
HABIT 6. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT
“[Build] yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”—Jude 20, NKJV
Praying in the Spirit keeps us spiritually charged, and ready to receive from the Father. Your phone is a great example here. Even though you've got a perfect sleek phone, will you ever get anything done on it if is dead? No. As long as the battery is dead, no matter how much you try, there will be no connection or transmission between that phone and another person's.You just have to charge it.
When you pray in the spirit, you edify yourself, which means to improve or uplift or charge yourself, and makes you ready to connect to the Father's frequency of transmission. It strengthens your spirit and builds you up in your faith.
Another powerful part of praying in other tongues is that it allows you to pray above what you know in the natural. Sometimes we don't even know what to pray about or which words to use in the natural, but God has given us our prayer language by and through the in filling of His Spirit, to help us pray according to His will.
Doors to revelation, wisdom, instruction and encouragement and much more are also opened to you as you pray in the Spirit.
Have you received the Holy Spirit yet? Please take this time to ask God to fill you with His Spirit and confirm it with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I pray God fills you up and fills your mouth as you obey in Jesus name!
Take your time every day (preferably fixed time to aid consistency) to charge yourself up by praying in the Spirit!
Habit No. 7: GET RID OF BAGGAGE
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” –Hebrews 12:1
In aerodynamics, there is a concept called Streamlining. The idea is to remove anything that would slow a craft down, and the ultimate goal to be achieved here is optimum performance and a victorious outcome.
When God told us to “strip off every weight that slows us down,” He was telling us to streamline our lives so we can enjoy optimum victory at all times.
Imagine having bags, baggage and all sorts of things tied all over you while trying to run a race. You will not be performing at your optimum, you will definitely be weighed down and not go so far. If you ever attempt running again without removing those baggage, you still get the same result, weighed down and tired!
What kind of baggage are you carrying today? Worry, anxiety, stress or fear? Maybe it’s a habit of sin you haven’t removed or unforgiveness towards others or towards yourself that’s been festering for years. Whatever it is, make the decision to get rid of it today! It’s slowing you down. Take off anything that is hindering you, and run your race to victory!
Ask God to help you break off from those weights. And everyday, tell Him to make you light enough to run the race before you for the day victoriously.
A bonus Habit: Extend the love of God to others by witnessing to them.
I want to implore you to invest in your spiritual growth by consistently practicing the 7 habits above . However, don't beat yourself help whenever you don't meet up with them daily. Keep going after them till they become part of you! God's grace is sufficient to crown your determination and efforts to grow strong.
Till next time
Your friend,
Pelumi.
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