And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him.
Luke 22:39
Jesus did not have a habit of going to the Mount of Olives because He liked mountain climbing. He went there to pray. Notice that it was His habit to go there. You will find throughout Scripture that all of the great men and women of God had similar habits. They all knew the vital importance of spending time with God. The Bible says that Enoch habitually walked with God “and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Here is a man who developed such an intimate relationship with God that the world could no longer hold him. Enoch had developed what I will reverently call the God habit.
Jesus was about to enter one of the most difficult times of His life on earth. The time for His suffering and death was near. He knew that He needed strength and He knew where to get it. It was His habit, His automatic response not only in times of tribulation but at all times to spend time with His heavenly Father. If you are like I once was and only go to God when you have an emergency, then I can tell you that while He’s not mad at you, God is not pleased. How would you like it if your friends or children only came to see you or spoke to you when they needed your help? You wouldn’t like it at all, and God doesn’t like it either.
The God habit is the first one that I want to address, because without the habit of spending time with God in prayer and studying His Word, we will be unable to develop any other good habits, and bad habits will overtake us and rule our lives. Seeking and spending time with Him is our most vital need.
You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word]
Psalm 27:8
God’s help and presence in our lives is vital. He is the Author of all true success and everything that is good, and without Him we can do nothing of true value. Are you taking time to ask for God’s help before you begin your day, make decisions, or undertake any endeavor? Develop the habit of acknowledging God in all your ways and then He will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:6). We are usually accustomed to making our own decisions and trying in our own strength to make the things happen that we want to take place, but that is truly a bad habit that needs to be broken. The habit of acknowledging God in all your ways may be the first and most important habit that you should develop.
I have known a few people with extremely strong willpower who have developed some good habits through discipline, but that does not mean they are truly successful. I have a strong will and it has been a benefit to me, but I have learned that our willpower takes us only so far, and we all discover sooner or later that we need God.
We took a short survey at our office of some of the habits people want to make and break, and right on top of the list was “I want to form a habit of spending more time with God.” We all have the same amount of time each day, but some people regularly find time to spend with God, and others never do. Saying that we don’t have time to spend with God is simply an excuse. The truth is that if we spend time with God, He will multiply what we have left—like the little boy with the loaves and fish (John 6)—and we will end up with more time than we would have had by leaving God out of our schedule.
The truth is that at this moment, you are as close to God as you want to be. What we sow we will reap, and if we want a bigger harvest, then we simply need to sow more seed. If we want a closer relationship with God, then we need to spend more time with Him.
My granddaughter, who is ten years old, recently asked me how she could spend more time with God, since she is so busy with school and all her activities. I thought that was really cute. She thinks she is busy now; I can’t imagine what she will think as life really gets into a full roar for her. She has a very bad habit of being cranky in the mornings and wants to get over it, so I told her that the best thing to do is get out of bed and spend the first five minutes with God. I thought five minutes would be a good place for her to begin, and if you have not formed this very important habit, it might be a good place for you to begin too. A small beginning is better than no beginning at all.
We need God, and we are no good without Him. He said, “If you seek me, you will find me” (Jeremiah 29:13). He is waiting for us to call on Him and talk to Him about every aspect of our lives. He wants to hear us say that we need Him, love Him, and that He is a vital necessity in our lives.
How can we ever hope to have order in our lives if we don’t know how to put the most important thing ahead of other things? I tried for many years to work God into my schedule, and the devil made sure I never found the time. Each night I felt guilty because once again I had failed to spend time with God, and I always promised myself that the next day would be different, but sadly it was a repeat of the day before. I had good intentions, but procrastination got the best of me. I was always going to spend time with God after the one more thing I needed to take care of.
Not much was working right in my life or ministry. I was frustrated most of the time about one thing or another and felt that any progress was made at a snail’s pace. I am grateful to say that God finally got through to me, and I have learned how to work my schedule around God, who is first, rather than trying to work Him into my schedule.
Jesus said it plainly:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Matthew 11:28
The answer to my problem was simple, and so is yours. Come to Jesus! Take time first thing each day to communicate with your Father in heaven who loves you and wants to be involved in all that you do. You may not have a lot of time to spend with God in the morning, but to give Him no time at all is tragic and insulting. We should give Him lots of time each day, but when you do it is up to you. It may be at lunch, or in the evening, but please don’t ignore Him. My lifestyle is such that I can make my own schedule, so I spend the first portion of each morning with God, but it is not my place to tell you how you should structure your spiritual life. I will say that I believe and can prove biblically that to seek Him early in the morning is wise. Even if you can’t spend a lot of time with God as soon as you get up, at least take time to say, “Good morning, Lord. I love You. Thank You for everything You do for me. I need You. Please help me today.”
In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalm 5:3
Mary Magdalene was the first one to see Jesus after His resurrection, but she also was the one who came to the tomb early (John 20:1). The other disciples stayed in bed, but Mary arose early and went to look for her Lord.
I need and receive a lot of help from God, and receiving the following Scripture as direction for my life has helped me in amazing ways.
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning].
Psalm 46:5
I could quote several other Scriptures to make my point, but I think you understand what I am trying to say. The earlier, the better should be our motto as far as connecting with God is concerned. In fact, the earlier, the better is a principle that should be applied to many areas in our lives.
Another piece of wisdom that has been helpful to me is don’t do nothing simply because you can’t do a lot. If you want to form a habit of spending time with God, then start small and progress. Sometimes we are defeated because we try to begin where we should be finishing, or we try to do what someone is doing who has had forty years’ experience with God.
I don’t believe God counts the minutes and hours we spend with Him, and I personally gave that belief up long ago. If I spend a lot of time with God and keep a mental record of it, I may be in danger of pride, and if I spend what I think is not enough, then I will feel guilty, and neither pride nor guilt are going to help me in my walk with God. I just spend as much time as I feel I need each day. To me it is like eating. I stop when I get full, and sometimes I need to eat more than at other times.
I don’t want to give you a program to follow; I only want to encourage you to form a habit of putting God first in everything you do. If you will seek first His Kingdom, He will add all of the other things that you need (Matthew 6:33).
I have the God habit, and I can tell you that it is the most important habit of all. God’s Word teaches us that we can do nothing without Him; therefore, it makes sense to make it a priority to form the habit of putting Him first. Perhaps you are at the point in your life where you are ready to form the habit, and if so, then you are at a good place. As a matter of fact, I want to encourage you to go all the way and get addicted to God. Put Him before all other things. Be totally unable to do without His guidance and presence in your life. If I tried to start a day without seeking God, I would feel like some people do if they try to start a day without sugar or caffeine. I am addicted! I wasted many years not putting God first, and as I look back, they were the most miserable years of my life. God and good things go together, so if we want to have a good life that we can enjoy, we must have the God habit.
Under the Old Testament law, when the Israelites went into battle, they had to make sure that the Ark of the Covenant that carried God’s presence always went first. Because of that, the Israelites won most of their battles. There was a time, however, when David tried to put the Ark on a new cart and have some men drive oxen pulling the Ark behind them. The outcome was disastrous (1 Chronicles 13). The message here is plain: If God is first, then we will be winners in life, but if He isn’t, there is no reason to expect anything to work out right. Billy Graham said, “Heaven is full of answers for which nobody ever bothered to ask.” Start asking and receiving, that your joy may be full (John 16:24).
Thankfully we have now become the Ark, or the house of God. He lives inside the hearts of those who believe in Jesus. We don’t have to go find Him, because He is always near. We just need to pay attention to Him. I wouldn’t like it if I lived in someone’s house and they ignored me most of the time, and I don’t think God likes it either.
It is amazing to me that God has chosen to make our hearts His home. It is a beautiful thought and a tremendous privilege, so we should develop the habit of regular conversation with Him. If you overspiritualize prayer, you are in danger of not doing it. Remember, prayer is simply talking to God, worshipping and praising Him, and being thankful at all times.
It is impossible to develop the God habit if we don’t have the Word habit. God and His Word are always connected. Jesus is the Word made flesh who came to dwell among us.
And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory…
John 1:14
We cannot know God apart from His Word, so we must be committed to studying it, meditating on it, and making it the basis of all that we do. God’s Word is truth and it shows us the way we are to live. Psalm 119 contains 176 verses that all teach us the vital importance of hearing, meditating on, loving, receiving, and obeying God’s Word.
Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:11
This I have had [as the gift of Your grace and as my reward]: that I have kept Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].
Psalm 119:56
Studying God’s Word can become a habit in the same way that we form all other good habits. We begin with some effort and keep at it until doing it becomes a regular habit in our life. It develops into something that is done habitually with little or no effort. You might begin with a commitment to read God’s Word (the Bible) fifteen minutes each day. Do that for two weeks and then increase it a couple of minutes each week until you reach your desired goal. After a while you will not need to have a set amount of time that you are committed to because you will probably have to discipline yourself to stop reading so you can tend to other things.
I also suggest that you keep a journal or computer with you, and as you read or after you are finished, make a note of the thing or things you feel you learned through your reading. This helps us to retain the knowledge we have received. You can benefit even more if you think about (meditate on) what you have learned throughout the day, or talk to someone else about it. You can also speak what you have learned out loud during times when you are alone just to help you deepen your awareness and remembrance of it.
With my lips have I declared and recounted all the ordinances of Your mouth.
Psalm 119:13
Start with portions of the Bible that you can readily understand. Most people feel that the New Testament is easier to understand than some portions of the Old Testament. Frequently the Gospel of John is suggested as a good place to begin. Psalms and Proverbs are also very practical and easily understood so they are also a good place to begin. Eventually you can progress to being able to read and understand all of God’s Word.
Through knowledge of God’s Word you will learn to know Him. You will learn His character and ways, and you will learn how much He loves you and what a wonderful plan He has for your life.
Once you have God’s Word deeply implanted in your heart, it will give you direction when you find yourself in situations where wisdom is needed.
I attended church and believed that Christ was my Savior for many years before I became committed to diligently studying God’s Word. I can honestly say that during those years I had very little if any spiritual growth. I was generally unhappy, frustrated, and did not display behavior that would be proper for someone calling themselves a Christian. God’s Word is our spiritual food and without it we cannot grow and become strong in Him.
Start now developing the Word habit and let it be one of the most important parts of your God habit!
Don’t divide your life into sacred and secular compartments. You can’t have a compartment where you keep God and then run the rest of your life yourself. For many years I had a “religious compartment.” I went to church on Sunday. Sometimes I read one chapter of the Bible in the evening out of obligation and then said a very short and often meaningless prayer. It is no wonder that my life was like a train wreck. As I have already said, I was an unhappy, miserable, frustrated, unfulfilled Christian. Yes, I said I was a Christian! I believed in and had received Jesus as my Savior. I understood salvation by grace alone and I was truly sorry for my sins. My problem was that I only invited God into my life on Sunday morning and in serious emergencies. I did not have the Word habit or the God habit. I was sad, but He was probably sadder because He had to watch me be miserable while His help was available for the asking. I was miserable because I wasn’t giving God access to my whole life. When I did, everything in my life changed for the better.
“You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). Start talking to God about everything you do. Invite Him into your activities, and if what you’re doing and where you’re going aren’t proper places for God, then stop!
Now you may be putting on the brakes because you know that you may have to make some lifestyle changes if you do that. But those things you may want to hang on to are the things that are stealing your peace and joy anyway, so say good-bye to them and get on with God’s plan for your life.
If you will develop the habit of putting God first in all things and inviting Him into everything you do, a lot of your bad habits will be taken care of by the forming of this one good habit.
The more time we spend with Jesus, the more we become like Him. The Bible says that as we study the Word of God, we are transformed into His image, from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). We see the law of gradual growth in operation in this Scripture. If we are diligent in seeking Him, slowly and surely we become better people.
Prayer doesn’t just change things, it also changes us. Prayer is not an obligation, it is a privilege. Spending time with God is habit forming, so get started today!