HABITS & ROUTINES

In my life I have had many habits. Some good and some not so good. Since becoming a Christian I have tried to form new habits that include the things of God. Many people say that the first thing you should do when you wake up, before even getting out of bed, is say "Good morning" to God and Jesus. Well, I don't. It seems I have to wake up before I remember much of anything. But, once I get in the car and out of the garage I say good morning and pray while I drive to work. The mornings that I don't do that never seem to go very well. It doesn't take long for me to remember that I didn't talk to God so I stop what I'm doing and talk to Him then. The reason I'm telling you this is because...

I was driving to church this morning and thought ,"Oh, I need to pray." My next thought was, "Why do I always forget to do that on weekends?" When I leave the house on Saturday or Sunday I rarely pray while driving. It occurred to me then that what I do every day is merely a habit. It's a routine I have gotten into. Immediately God brought to my attention that He does not want to be merely a routine. He wants me to talk to Him all the time because I want to, not just because I have made it a habit. He doesn't want our conversation to happen just because it's something I do everyday while driving. He wants it to happen because I want to talk to Him. He wanted me to know just because my daily routine changes on weekends my time to talk to Him should not. He should always be on my mind.

My thoughts were, having good habits and routines are a good thing but, making God a habit in anyway isn't. Having conversations with our friends and family are not habits. We talk to them because we want to and we talk to them when ever we can. That's how it should be with God. He was reminding me that we always need to be in communication with Him. Talk to Him continuously so when things go wrong your not just hoping He's there. You'll know He is.

Colossians 4:2 (New King James Version)
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Philippians 4:6 (New King James Version)

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;