3 Simple Habits that Make You Consistent in Prayer and the Word

If you're done playing games, it's time to get serious about the things of God. I don't want to shame you. I want to show you from scripture how to once and for all be done with spiritual laziness. You know, spiritual laziness comes with a lot of negative effects. There's inconsistent prayer life. There's inconsistent devotion to the word. There's inconsistent worship. Believers who are spiritually lazy find themselves being tossed to and fro, Their love of God going back and forth, their affections for the world rising and falling. If you're done with that, if you're tired of doing that, it's time now to focus in and stop playing games and be done with spiritual laziness. And I wanna show you how to do that. I wanna give you 3 habits that will rid you of spiritual laziness. Number 1 is practical discipline. The Holy Spirit will give you the desires to do that which you want to do. The Holy Spirit will give you the desire to do good, but you must make the decision to obey what the Holy Spirit is speaking. You must make the decision to implement with discipline those spiritual practices. Matthew chapter 26, I want you to go there now. Matthew chapter 26. Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Couldn't you watch with me even for one hour? Keep watch and pray so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing," the scripture says, "but the body is weak." Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done. Or let this cup pass, but nevertheless not my will, your will be done." Verse 43. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn't keep their eyes open. So he went to pray a 3rd time, saying the same things again. Here we see that the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Now, contrary to popular belief, the body itself is not evil. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit created by God. You can choose to use your body as an instrument of evil, or you can choose to use your body as an instrument of holiness. So the body isn't evil unto itself. We can discipline this body. We can control this body. We can make decisions that bring about discipline. Now, this applies to spiritual acts like prayer and the Word, because when you're thinking of prayer and the Word, you may not always consider the discipline that has to go into those things. Yes, as I said, The Holy Spirit will give you desire to pray. The Holy Spirit will give you desire to read the Word. But ultimately, you have to be the one who decides that you will implement the discipline to be consistent in these things. And this is where many believers become frustrated because it's not always the answer that they want to hear. They want someone to be able to lay hands on them, and then automatically they start praying. They want someone to be able to lay hands on them, and then all of a sudden, There's this daily devotion to the Word of God. But our discipline is found in the daily decisions that we make despite our emotions and preferences and the sporadic happenings of day-to-day life. We choose what we ought to do. We choose how we live in everyday life. Discipline needs to be thought of as a spiritual trait. Discipline is to say yes to the voice of the Holy Spirit And no to the voice of the flesh. Discipline, hear me now, is when you put away your phone and instead go to pray. Discipline is when you shut off the streaming platform and instead devote yourself to the Word. If you will make that commitment right here, right now, you may be saying to yourself, well, I don't know if I'm able to do this, or I don't know if I'm gonna be able to carry that out. I'll tell you this, the Holy Spirit will help you. Amen. But if you're willing to make that commitment, I want you to write in the comment section right now 2 simple words, I commit, and then hold yourself to that. You need to see this as a priority. Again, this is not something that we can put off till later. And some of us think, well, when I'm older, I'll take it more seriously. Or once I get things situated with school, or once I get situated with my career, or once I get situated with my family dynamics. Then I'll be able to focus more on spiritual disciplines. Or once my finances are in order, once my health challenge has been overcome, then I'll be able to find that spiritual discipline. Then I'll give my time to the Lord. The problem with thinking like that is you're giving God your leftovers rather than your first fruits. This needs to come first. Applies both to prayer and the Word. So when I decide to pray, I am implementing that discipline. Look, you're not always going to feel like praying. You're not always going to feel like reading the Word. And sometimes you may feel like a hypocrite because you read the Word but don't feel like reading the Word, or you go to pray but you don't necessarily always feel like praying. The body is weak, but the spirit is willing. The flesh will always desire opposite of what the spirit wants. And I'm not describing, by the way, when I say flesh, I'm not talking about the body. I'm talking about that old programming, that old software that needs to be upgraded, the sin nature that desires opposite of what the Spirit desires. You're going to always find that conflict. So do you wanna know how to pray more? Here's the answer. You have to choose to pray more. You wanna know how to read the Word consistently? You have to choose to read the Word consistently. Now don't get overwhelmed by this because we're talking about progress, not perfection. You may look at it as a whole, your spirituality as a whole, your relationship with God as a whole, and you may see where you want to be maybe 20 years from now. And so it's so overwhelming that you don't even want to take the first step because it seems like it's so far away. This is where you have to decide To, hear this, do the next thing. When you don't feel like getting up to pray, get up to pray. When you don't feel like turning off the phone or shutting off the TV or removing distraction and entertainment, when you don't feel like altering plans, do it anyway. We don't live by feelings, we live by faith. When you don't feel like carving out a section of your day to devote to the word of God, read the word. When you've made a sinful mistake and you feel guilt and shame overcoming you, you may be tempted to say, well, I wanna stay as far away from spiritual things as possible. But when you've fallen into temptation, that is precisely when you most need to get back to spiritual disciplines. So despite the shame, despite the guilt, despite wondering if God will or will not accept you, You need to choose to do the next thing, to get up and to pray, to get up and to read the Word, to get up and to get going for God. And this doesn't just apply necessarily to the morning. I'm talking about any time the Lord is calling you to the secret place. And by that, I mean calling you to enact disciplines of spiritual devotion, choosing to detach from the desires and the distractions of this world. That's a choice. And by the way, the more you are satisfied in the world, the less you will pursue the things of God. Not even that the world can completely satisfy. It's only temporary satisfaction that we get from the world. But when you begin to focus your affections on the Lord Jesus, when you begin to get your strength and your sustenance from him, then your spiritual appetite becomes stronger. This starts as a discipline, But becomes a delight. This starts as decision-making, but eventually becomes a part of your nature. But you have to choose to take that first step. No one is gonna pray in your stead. They may be able to pray for you as intercessors, but they're not going to be able to take the place of your private devotion to God on your behalf. They're not gonna be able to study and draw closer to God on your behalf. You've got to choose to do that. to do this for yourself starting now. Not next week, not after the semester, not after this career move, not after this life decision, now. It needs to begin now. And you need to decide that you're going to commit to this long-term and consistently. And what begins to happen then is you begin to find pleasure in the spiritual rather than in the material. In fact, the things of this world become dull. And I'm not saying that you have to be a hermit and go up to some mountain somewhere and never speak to anybody again. We are in the world, not of the world. I simply mean that you will find that the things of this world become dim. The things of this world begin to lose their allure in comparison to the glories that you begin to experience in the places of prayer and devotion to the Word. So do what you have to do, but begin to make those decisions. Nobody is going to make those decisions for you. Nobody is going to decide. And here's a lie that many Christians believe. They think that they can't make these decisions. They say, well, I've tried many times to be consistent in prayer, or I've tried many times to get into the Word. Let God be true and every man a liar. You've been given a free will. You've been given autonomy. You've been given the power of choice. And you can choose on a daily basis to make those decisions. Despite the circumstances, despite the pressure of the world around you, despite the allure of this secular culture, despite what your emotions are saying, despite the struggles, despite whatever is going on internally or externally, you can decide, you can choose to devote yourself to prayer and the Word. So that's number one, is discipline. You have got to begin to take responsibility for your choices. Stop blaming the devil. Stop blaming your environment. Stop blaming your pastor. Stop blaming your friends. Stop blaming your parents. Stop blaming your children. Stop blaming God and take responsibility for the free will that God has given to you. You want dominion over demons? First, you need dominion over self. You want dominion to expand the kingdom of God in this earth? First, you need to see the kingdom of God grow within you. And in order to do this, you must practice discipline. As practical as that may sound, it is quite a revelation to learn for many believers that you are in fact in charge of your choices. Now, we may not say outright, well, I don't choose what I choose. We may not say that, but somewhere in the back of the mind, we have these deeply seated beliefs, subtle as they are, that we are somehow being controlled by exterior forces. when we are not. You have the choice. You have been given the power of free will. So that's number 1, is discipline. Remember, write, I commit, in the comment section. Number 2 is intentionality. This is the awareness of God's presence and the pace of your life. Acts 17:27, a very simple verse. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God And perhaps feel their way toward him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. Here's one of the other lies that the enemy causes us to believe. He wants you to picture God a million miles away. Remember, Jesus said the kingdom is inside of you. Where does the Holy Spirit dwell? He dwells within you. So though you might picture God as a million miles away, You have to remember that he's right in front of you. He's everywhere at all times. Put your hand in front of your face and you'll find that God is closer than your hand. God is more real than what we call reality. Think about that. God is more real than the device on which you're watching this right now. God is more real than the room you're in. Your physical body is a vehicle that you use to interact with the world around you, but God is more real than this physical being. Don't picture him a million miles away. He's right there in the room with you. And he's not aloof. He's not barely putting up with you. He welcomes you. So we have to slow down. You know, everything in this world today is so fast-paced. And there's so much noise coming at us from all different directions, isn't there? So many opinions, so many points of chatter, so much clutter, noise, noise, noise, noise. You need to learn to rise above the noise. And in order to do that, you have to expand your awareness of God. What do you mean by that, David? I simply mean, think of God more often. Be more mindful of the fact that he dwells in you. you. And when you're more mindful of the fact that he dwells in you, this mindset begins to shift your life and you begin to see consistency develop in things like prayer, the Word, service, worship, holiness. I mean, my goodness, if you're tired of going back and forth, back to old sinful habits, simply an awareness of God's presence within you will give you strength against temptation. Because you begin to ask yourself, what am I doing with the temple of the Holy Spirit? Where am I going with the Holy Spirit's body? What am I looking at with the Holy Spirit's eyes? What am I listening to with the Holy Spirit's ears? What am I handling with the Holy Spirit's hands? What am I speaking with the Holy Spirit's mouth? My body belongs to the Holy Spirit. Your body belongs to the Holy Spirit. And we have to become more aware of this. We have to recognize that he is in every moment. In your ups and your downs, on your good days, on your bad days. Wherever you may be going, whatever you may be doing, he's with you right there. Not just at a distance kind of observing, but actively participating in your everyday life. But you're never gonna be aware of this if you're just rushing through life. One thing after another, distraction after distraction. This, by the way, is why you may have trouble with silence. Because you have to constantly have the device going or, or activity going or speaking with someone. Why? Because you haven't settled peace with God in your mind and in your heart. And you as a believer have that access to God. And many times you leave that unaccessed because you're so distracted by the world. So you have to live with intentionality. Slow down. Slow down. Even now, as you're receiving the Word, your flesh might be squirming. The sin nature might be screaming, saying, give me something entertaining. Give me something that's not the Word. Distract me with something else. And there's that fighting. There's that— you can even sense that battle even now. Let me know in the comment section if you're sensing that, kind of that pull where there's like this struggle to give your attention to the Word. That is how much strength the flesh has gained. Think about that. And we give it more strength when we just continue to mindlessly feed it whatever it wants, when we as believers ought to slow down, be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit here, right now, in this moment. Slow down, slow your pace, and allow yourself to be aware of the fact That the Holy Spirit dwells in you, that God is with you. So number 1 is discipline. Number 2 is intentionality, that is awareness and pacing. Slow the pace of your life. Number 3, and this right here may not seem spiritual, but I want you to consider this. God is a God of order. Number 3 is organization. That's right. This is budgeting time and considering energy. 1 Corinthians 14:40, but be sure that everything is done properly and in order. Now, this is in reference to how they were to conduct church services, but it's reflective of the nature of God and the principle of order. God will not bless a mess. God is a God of structure. This is why I find it funny when I hear people criticizing ministries that are organized or that are large or that plan things. I think that society today kind of criticizes the big and the grand for no other reason other than it's become cynical. But that which is organized is of God typically. This is actually not to say that, you know, like the corporations are of God or that every government agency is of God. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that order itself, the principle of order, that comes from the nature of God. God is a God of structure. God is a God of order. I find it interesting when people say things like, well, I'm not really into organized religion. Well, what are you into then? I say. Disorganized religion? Chaotic religion? Confusing religion? No, God is a God of order. Name me one thing God ever did that didn't have a system. He designed the body. There are systems there. We live in an ecosystem. that's based in a solar system. There are systems of mathematics. There are systems of morality. There are systems of spiritual laws. The church is a system. It's a structure. Yes, it's relational. Yes, it's a family. But even a family, a family unit is a system. And so we have to stop disdaining this idea that there should be order and structure. Order gives way to excellence. Order gives way to consistency. Order makes room for discipline. Order makes room for discipline. Many times people have an issue with discipline because they have no direction. And they have no direction because they have no order. And order helps you to budget your time. So don't just wake up and go about your day and just let the day come to you. Take dominion over the day by telling it what goes where. Take dominion over your time by writing down how you will spend your time, being intentional. I know that in my life, this has been a very helpful tool, especially with all of the different things that come at me from lots of different directions, people pulling in so many different directions, many people saying, I just need 20 minutes, I just need 30 minutes, I just need 5 minutes. And people don't realize that if all If all of their time were added up, there wouldn't be enough time in the day to get back to everyone. And so I have to learn to be disciplined, to make sure first and foremost that I'm making time for the Lord, time in the word, time in prayer. I structure my day around that. Time for my health, time for my family, time for my wife, time for my daughter. Make sure that we have date nights, make sure we have family days, make sure that there's time for rest, make sure that there's time for preparing sermons, that there's time to meet with the staff about media and events and administration and legal considerations. Make sure that there's time for all of it. And so in order to do that, there has to be this budgeting of time. There's nothing wrong with that. Organization is spiritual. Get it outta your head that organization is contrary to spirituality. Get it outta your head that the more spontaneous something is, the more spiritual it is. Yes, God can be spontaneous, but he's only spontaneous to us. He had the plan all along. Amen. God may seem disruptive, but it's only disruptive if we've planned according to our own way instead of God's way, because he's ultimately gonna do what he wants to do. So everything must be done properly and in order. And don't just budget your time, by the way, budget your energy. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, you only have so much emotional energy to give throughout any given week. So picture your energy, I'm talking about emotional energy, mental energy. Picture it like in a cup and imagine that the energy is like water. You can only give out your energy to so many things, and otherwise you become drained. Don't give yourself to every development in church drama. Don't give yourself to gossip. Don't give yourself to slander. Don't give yourself to defending yourself. Don't give yourself to explaining yourself. To people who refuse to misunderstand you. You know, there are some people who are benefited by their misunderstanding of you because it helps them to feel better about themselves. And so they have to stick with the narrative they've built about you. So to defend yourself to them would be a waste of time. Don't give your energy to that. Don't give your energy to backbiting. Don't give your energy to doubt. Don't give your energy to cynicism. Don't give your energy to guilt. Don't give your energy to the lies of the enemy. Don't give your energy to people who just wanna take, take, take, take, and never wanna give back. Guard your energy and give the first fruit. Watch this now. Give the first fruit of your finances, yes, to the Lord. We all know that. Give the first fruit of your time, yes, to the Lord. We all know that. But consider this, give the first fruits of your mental and emotional energy to the Lord. When is that at the peak for you? For some, that's in the morning. For some, that's in the evening. Whenever that may be, give that best to the Lord, the first fruits. And you'll find that as you begin to guard and budget your energy, just like you guard and budget your finances, just like you guard and budget your time, you'll find that there is a consistency that begins to develop in your life because you're not giving yourself every which way to everything. You're learning to say, I'm not gonna waste my time, my breath, my mental energy on something like that. Learn to rise above the noise. Learn to be without distraction. Learn to stay focused on what really matters. You only have so much time. You only have so much energy, and you have to learn to pour that into the proper compartments structured throughout the day. God does everything with order. Order. Discipline without organization can become activity without progress. Let me say that again. Discipline without organization can become activity without progress. Because discipline is action, organization is direction. And if you're acting without knowing where you're going, then you're gonna find a lack of progress in your life. So you need to do all 3 of these together. Mm-hmm. Maybe you have had discipline and you've made decisions every day to do what you know you ought to do, but there was no direction. You didn't decide what book of the Bible you were gonna actually read. By the way, and this is, I'll get back to that point in just a moment. Just off on this tangent, you ever notice that it's easier to commit to a discipline when you have a plan? That's why organization is there. So for example, you go to read the Word, and if you're just kind of scattered reading a few verses from Isaiah, and then jumping back to Genesis and jumping forward to Revelation and scattering yourself all over, half a chapter of this here and half a chapter of that there, and a couple of verses from this section and this story over here, you're jumping all over the place. How are you gonna know you're making progress? Where's the line here? Where's that commitment taking you? So discipline without direction doesn't yield any progress. So you need to decide what book of the Bible are you gonna start reading? I want you to tell me in the comments right now, what book of the Bible Let's make this plain here. What book of the Bible are you gonna commit to reading starting now? And if you're already in a book of the Bible, tell me which one you're going to finish. And then tell me when you're going to pray. When are you gonna pray? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, all the way through Saturday and Sunday. When are you gonna pray on those days? What does your schedule look like? You need to be a good steward of what God has given to you. Amen. And that will yield fruitfulness. So again, number 1 is discipline. Number 2 is intentionality. Slow your pace, be aware of the presence of God in your life, and this will help you with number 3, to be organized.