By Randy Carlson
Growing in your faith may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to tackle every spiritual discipline right away. Begin by adding a few habits to each day.
Start with prayer. It’s a powerful opportunity to commune with the living God, and I don’t mean just praying over your food for dinner. I mean time alone with God when you’re on your face before Him. I mean bringing before Him the things that you are wrestling with and the things that you are joyful for. Prayer is a beautiful opportunity to grow close to Christ.
Get away from the noise and distractions of life, and meditate on Scripture. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to you. Ephesians 5:18 says that we should be filled with the Spirit. It’s a daily decision to allow the Spirit of God to fill our life. Times of meditation draw you closer to Him.
Intentionally memorize scriptures. Sometimes by just reading and rereading them, they’ll become ingrained in your life. There are moments in my life when I’m faced with a challenge or a decision, and I can recall scripture. Memorizing scripture brings the Holy Spirit closer to me.
Listen to Christian radio and allow the programming to become a sort of soundtrack for your home. When Donna and I get in the car, we turn on the radio and hear the Christian songs coming through from Family Life Radio, and hear the announcers sharing scripture. Hearing those things gets hope into our lives.
You can do all these things, but if your heart is not right and if you don’t have a real desire to grow spiritually, these things are just going to be activities. I’m not suggesting you have to do all of these to grow spiritually, but if you make these habits and do them with an attitude out of love for Christ, you will grow spiritually, and you will start to experience more and more freedom.
