Yes, this is another article on forming good habits. One of the reasons we get tired of someone writing about habits is that we have tried so many times to form good habits and we have failed. I know I’ve been down that road many times, and when it’s all said and done, I still don’t have a new good habit.
But good habits are the foundation of a good life. Jesus was a man of habits. He no doubt learned good habits as a child. The Bible tells us that it was the custom of his family to go up to the feast every year at Jerusalem (Luke 2:42). We also know that Jesus had a habit of praying. There is probably no one else in Scripture who prayed as often as Jesus did (Luke 22:39-46).
It is also true that the best, most powerful habits begin small. John Wooden, the masterful Basketball Coach at UCLA who won ten NCAA championships in twelve years, was a believer in starting small. Here is what Coach Wooden wrote in an article in Newsweek magazine. “The first thing I would show our players at our first meeting was how to take a little extra time putting on their shoes and socks properly.” It doesn’t get more basic than “shoes and socks”.
Sometimes a Christian will set a goal of “understanding the Holy Spirit”. That’s a very admirable goal. But it’s massive! You will never come close to understanding the Holy Spirit until you do the little things that build a foundation for deeper Bible study. Here are two small things to do which will help you build a solid, unwavering, Christian foundation.
Tiny Habit One: Read a Little
In his vast wisdom, God chooses to communicate with us through the Bible. Peter writes, “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.“ Reading the Bible is absolutely essential to building a strong Christian life. But we struggle with regular Bible reading. Let’s face it, life is busy, and there are many distractions. The raw reality is that we push Bible reading to the side. How can we fix that?
Dedicate five minutes, at the same time every day, for Bible reading. Choose a time when you are unlikely to be interrupted. Personally, early morning works for me. Will that work for you? I don’t know. You choose the time when you can give five minutes to Bible reading. Today, many Bibles are printed in paragraphs. Take five minutes to read one paragraph. It’s a way to start small.
Tiny Habit Two: Pray a Little
Likewise, our Father allows us to speak to him. We call it prayer. If you think about it, it is pretty amazing that the Creator of the universe would want to hear from us. But he does. And like Bible reading, we often struggle with our prayer life. Our prayers are often limited to a quick blessing over a piece of fried chicken. We can do better.
Dedicate five minutes, at the same time every day, for prayer. The gospel of Mark records that Jesus rose “very early in the morning while it was still dark” to pray (Mark 1:35). Again, early morning works for me, maybe not for you. Choose your time. I will offer one caution, however. It’s probably best not to pray while you are lying down in bed. Too many times I’ve tried to pray before I go to sleep. It’s very disappointing to wake up the next morning and realize that you went to sleep in the middle of your prayer! But again, choose a time that will work for you.
These tiny habits are temporary. I don’t expect you, and I hope that you will not, limit your prayer life to five minutes a day or your Bible reading to a single paragraph each day. I expect this to be a tiny building block on the way to a greater foundation for your faith. Perhaps after a week of five-minute prayers and readings, you increase to ten minutes. It is a process that will evolve and improve over time. Like a tiny acorn that grows into a great oak tree, our tiny habits produce great outcomes. Or, as Coach Wooden would say, you have to tie your shoes right in order to play basketball.
I would be most grateful if you would leave a comment below. Any applause, criticism, thought, or request would be appreciated.
