5 Habits Essential To My Relationship With God
There are several key habits that are essential to my relationship with God. These are the things I practice daily. They are the roots under the soil, which even though they are invisible from above, produce the fruit and growth that can be seen on the outside.
Quiet Time
Making a habit of spending time with the Lord in the morning is essential. Before the day gets started with all that it may bring, it’s so important to seek God first. Starting off your day with the Lord sets the tone for the rest of the day. It helps keep your focus on Him, which can help you set your heart and mind on what He desires.
Practice the Presence of God
Our time with the Lord can’t stop after we’ve closed our Bible’s and left our prayer place. There’s a reason why God lives inside of us. He’s with us wherever we go, and He wants to be involved in whatever we’re doing. It’s a beautiful lifestyle of involving God in every moment. Talking with Him and listening for His voice. Always looking for ways to bless people. Desiring others to experience His presence simply because we are available to His leading and longings.
Repentance
Often, repentance is thought of as a one-time act at an altar call when we get saved. However, like the rest of these, it’s a lifestyle.
The word “repentance” is defined as “a change of mind.” Repentance is so beautiful. It’s a way to check your heart with the Lord. I repent (change my mind) about my sin, thought processes, attitude, actions, etc. on a daily basis because I want to be close to the heart of God. It’s all relational, and I want to do what pleases Him. Sin separates us from God, so I want to repent and turn from my sin so that I can always be close to Him.
Repentance sets us free. It’s an exit strategy from captivity to sin patterns, worldly ways, and frankly anything that is below the identity and destiny that the cross provides for us.
Love
Now, I’m not talking about the idea that the world has of love, where everything is tolerated because of the popular “you do you” mentality. This is so instrumental in the life of a believer. As followers of Jesus, we’re commanded by Him to love one another just as He loves us. After all, it was because of God’s great and unconditional love that Jesus was sent into the world to redeem and save us from our sins. It was love that compelled Him to suffer so severely for our sake. Now love will be the way the world recognizes the children of God.
There’s a reason I have these in a particular order. These habits all build on each other. I think it’s much easier to give others the agape (unconditional) love of God when we are already focusing on Him throughout the day. Therefore changing our minds about how we perceive people and situations. If someone says something unkind to us, it’s much easier to forgive them if we’re already communing with the Lord and leaving room for Him in every moment. These essential practices help us change our perspective on life, allowing us to realize what it means to truly live in abundance.
Thanksgiving
Here’s a primary key to sustaining a life of joy. This is a choice that we make daily. We choose what we focus on. Do we focus on what we do have or what we don’t? Do we look for the beauty that the Lord wants to show us, or do we ponder the negativity of our circumstances? Trust me, it’s so much more enjoyable to live with a heart of gratitude. Again, this is a lifestyle to practice. Once you start, it seems to overflow within you, and thanksgiving becomes your default setting.