5 Micro-habits that helped me GROW in my faith

I want to share with you 5 micro-habits that helped me get stronger and grow in my faith!

No gatekeeping here! I don't know about you, but I have been in a learning frenzy! I'm learning so much lately, and trying to apply it all has been making my head spin. But. Habit stacking has been the key. I don't need to overhaul my whole life in one day. I can change just one thing a day. Just add one thing per day. I can move the needle a tiny percentage point every day and over time, that habit-stacking will catch up with me and I will find myself where I want to be! That is my hope anyway. It sounds good!

At the beginning of the year, I was in a class where Ian Carroll said, "2025 is a year to learn how to do the hard thing." That stuck with me. All through this year I have tried to remember it's supposed to be hard! Learning to do the hard things means that I can't just settle for what has always worked. I'm actually pretty proud of the hard things I've learned to do. So here we go, I don't want to keep you here all day! This will be a shorter post.

5 micro-habits that helped me get stronger as I grow in my faith!

1. Be around other Christ-followers who are living the life you want to live. If you’re newly married, get around believers who have a strong marriage and have been married for 40 years. If you want to learn to pray, find the 60, 70, and 80-year-olds who have literally prayed people out of addiction, prayed marriages to health, prayed revivals, prayed for pastors and cities, and go join their prayer group! Corey Russell, in his book, Teach Us To Pray, shares that when he got saved, he was the only 20 year old in this prayer group of old women. If the bible is confusing (don’t worry, we’ve all been there), go join a bible study. Not the young people bible study, but the old people bible study. Believe me. They will be so stoked you are there and they will try to answer any question you have! These men and women of God have been praying for you to come into the Kingdom of God, so if you build relationships with them, let them mentor you and raise you up, you will have mentors and coaches and experienced people at your back as you step into your calling. Believe me. It’s invaluable!

2. Switch up your prayer life. Don’t get used to praying one way. Pray as you walk. Pray when you drive. Pray in your secret place. Pray at 5am. Pray on your knees. Pray at midnight. Pray with declarations, and pray scriptures. Pray the promises of God over your life. Pray for your parents. Pray for people to get saved that you never could imagine getting saved. Pray with people and pray alone. Pray with music and pray in silence. Scream sometimes! Rest sometimes. Don’t forget to pray for yourself! Pray for people you don’t like. Declare the blessings of God over the lives of pastors you don’t agree with. Pray for them to have ears to hear when God speaks to them. Pray for your least favorite political leader. Pray for them like you would want someone to pray for you. Pray for strangers in the grocery store. Pray for transients on the street. Ask someone every week if you can pray for them, then if they say yes, lay hands on them, ask the Lord what He has to say to them, and then pray that over them. 

   
   

3. Ask God questions every day. Lean into His heart, ask Him what He thinks about you, about others. Learn to discern the leading of God, and train yourself to obey. This takes time and consistency. One time, about 10 years ago I was driving down the freeway and I felt an impression that I thought was possibly God that He wanted me to pull off the freeway. I couldn’t see a reason why, but I decided to obey. I pulled over and just sat on the side of the road in my car. When I felt the impression lift, I got back on the freeway and continued on to work. I have no idea what that was, to this day. I don’t know if He was just testing to see if I would do it, or if He was protecting me from an accident, I have no idea. But. I have learned what it feels like when He nudges me to do something, say something, and over the years of consistently listening, I have learned to hear God. ( I even wrote a book about it). Here’s a short list of things He’s told me over the past few years:

   1. Quit your job

   2. Wrap yourself in this flag and preach

   3. You’re not preaching today, I’m taking over

   4. Don’t sing that song

   5. Vote for this presidential candidate

   6. Lead worship on your knees

   7. Call these people to bring their addictions to the altar

   8. Hug this woman and tell her it’s from her mother

   9. Don’t call her crazy, I’m not saying that about her. 

4. I did a K-Love challenge around Easter of 2012. The challenge was to listen only to Christian music for 30 days. It changed my life. I’m still listening primarily to Christian music. It didn’t change my life by itself, but combined with connecting with a community of Christ-Followers, praying with others, reading the bible with others, and praying in the Holy Spirit, my life has been radically changed! My marriage has been restored. My daughter was raised in a Christian home for half of her childhood. I quit my 6 figure job to travel the world, preach the gospel, write books, and pastor a church.

   
   

5. Pray in the spirit most days, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. You don't want to? I get it. Maybe you’re scared, or maybe you’ve been taught that it’s demonic, or that the Holy Spirit isn’t active today. This is my story, and I’m sharing what helped me grow. I was scared, I had fear, and I didn’t believe it because I didn’t want to believe the wrong thing. But, God sent me a trusted friend to say, “Someone here believes that being filled with the spirit isn’t for them, and I am here to tell you that is a lie.” As soon as she said that, I knew that was me, and I surrendered. I asked the Lord (in my mind) to fill me, and I had an experience where the Holy Spirit filled me from the top of my head all the way down, I can’t even explain it. I have gone months without praying in the spirit, but I will tell you this. I am stronger and more connected to the spiritual realm when I pray in the spirit regularly. I have more weight in the spirit, and many more of my prayers get answered because I have learned how to pray what the Holy Spirit wants me to pray instead of blindly just spouting off words and hoping something sticks. So, praying in the spirit has been a game changer for me. Those are my micro-habits that help me get strong in the Lord as I grow in my Faith!

Let me know what you think! What micro-habits changed your life?

Keep in touch! Drop a comment! If you'd like to subscribe to my Community Newsletter to hear about my travel plans, testimonies, teachings or encounters you can sign up here!  If you want to discover more about what God planned when he created you,  fall in love with the YOU that you’re becoming, and learn to find joy in the everyday moments, check out Belief Rehab: You Are Enough!