Breaking habits and creating new ones is hard, but it should not be overwhelming with God on your side. This post will give readers straightforward steps for breaking habits as we strive to create new, healthier habits that bring us closer to God. No one is perfect, and even Christians must self-reflect. Whether we have a habit to break or want to develop healthy habits like exercising or budgeting, we need a strategy to accomplish our goals.
Especially when the New Year comes, we often consider what we want to change for the upcoming year. We all know how hard it is to break a bad habit. Stopping a habit takes great effort and dedication. As Christians, we can take solace in our faith and let God give us guidance, strength, and perseverance to change our habits.
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Identify and Acknowledge Habits To Change In Prayer
The initial step towards breaking a habit is to identify and acknowledge it through prayer. It is essential to regularly communicate with God about our desire to change, confess our struggles, and request His strength, wisdom, and forgiveness. By dedicating specific times for prayer and reflection, such as before bed or in the morning, we can gain the strength and faith required to succeed.
Depending on the magnitude of the change we seek to make, adding fasting to our prayer time may be beneficial. For example, when I was breaking the habit of smoking, I prayed and asked God to help me. As I prayed, I heard the Scripture from Matthew 17:21, where Jesus, speaking of the disciples’ inability to cast out a demon from a boy, said, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” At that moment, I believed that because smoking was a deeply ingrained behavior from my youth, I needed to strengthen my faith with prayer and fasting.
I fasted for three days and promised God that I would only drink liquids; during that time, I prayed, and God was true to his promise. He helped me gain control of my mind to know that he would give me the strength and self-control to overcome the smoking habit. Just as I was able to go three days without food, God helped me understand that others had successfully gone without cigarettes. By fasting and praying, with God’s help, I was convinced that I could go a lifetime without another smoke.
Be Ready To Fight the Enemy’s Lies When Breaking Habits
The fight with habits starts in our minds. We must sift through the enemy’s lies and God’s truths. We have to allow the truth of God to win over the enemy’s lies, and that happens when we finally reach a breaking point where we want to change because we desire to follow after God and live lives that bring Him honor. We must be sick of excuses and ready for change because the enemy will give us plenty of reasons to stay stuck.
We must ready ourselves in prayer for the battle in our mind about the habit. To do this, we arm ourselves with God’s truth and make conscious decisions to stop believing the enemy’s lies. The enemy does not want us to change for the better, nor does he want us to pray. The enemy will try to convince us that change is impossible or too difficult. He may even tell us that the habit is not so bad and that we should deal with it. We must be willing to fight his negative thoughts and adopt the thoughts of faith, which promise that we can do all things through Christ, which strengthens us.
Sometimes, we may feel ashamed or afraid to ask for help because the enemy attacks our faith, makes us feel condemned, and makes us believe that we are not worthy of God’s love. However, we must avoid allowing enemy tactics to defeat us. We need to remind ourselves that our Heavenly Father is always there to help us when we ask for it. Instead of hiding our difficulties, we should run to God with every problem. Remember that the enemy wants us to struggle, but our Heavenly Father wants us to overcome and succeed.
Seek Guidance in Scripture Regarding Breaking Habits
Once you have fasted, prayed, and mentally prepared yourself for the battle ahead, it is time to equip yourself with powerful scriptures to stand on. The Bible is an excellent source of guidance and encouragement for those working toward breaking habits. Just like my prayer time helped me discover a scripture, I believe that whenever you face any difficult situation, God will help you stand by His Word through the Holy Spirit. He will guide you towards a powerful scripture you will recognize as a message from above.
As you look for verses that strengthen your resolve to change, find scriptures that offer encouragement, guidance, and reminders of God’s presence and love. Locating Bible verses is a crucial step because finding and standing on the Word of God strengthens your faith, but it also aligns your heart and mind with what God says about you rather than the enemy’s lies.
One passage that may be helpful as a reminder of why it is essential to break habits that do not glorify God is found in Ephesians 4:22-24 “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” As Christians, we must strive to be the new creation and live the abundant life that Jesus died to give us. He wants us to be free from sin and bad habits.
When the enemy whispers that we can not succeed, we can hold on to the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
If you struggle with temptation, pray and remind yourself of the helpful verse in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” This verse reminds us that with God’s help, we can overcome any obstacle, including our bad habits.
Additionally, Psalm 119:9-11 guides how to break bad habits by focusing on God’s word: “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Lastly, my favorite Scripture in 1 John 4:4 states, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”
Overall, seeking guidance in Scripture can provide comfort and strength for those looking to break habits, as the Bible reminds us that there is nothing or nobody more significant than the one who lives inside our hearts.
Devise a Strategy For Breaking Habits
Identifying triggers and avoiding the situations, emotions, or thoughts that typically lead you to indulge in your bad habits will be necessary. Once you understand your triggers, you can develop strategies to avoid them or manage your response. For example, if stress makes you overeat, identify healthy coping mechanisms like exercise or talking to a friend.
Don’t shy away from recognizing your temptations. Acknowledge the urge and remind yourself of your commitment to change and why you want to break the habit. This conscious awareness is crucial for making positive choices.
The Bible is clear that if we want the enemy to flee, we must resist him. As the enemy learns that the more he tempts you, the more you will pray to God, eventually, he will lose his hold over you and give up. You have to fight the urge to return to the old nature. Just as Jesus resisted the enemy in the wilderness, you must tell the enemy no using the Word of God. Know that he can not win if you ask God to help you.
After we pray, begin to stand on the Word of God, and identify our triggers, we must find a realistic strategy. There are tools to help us let go of unhealthy habits and reach for healthy ones, but we must be willing to do our part. God will not take anything that we are not willing to give. As much as we want to blink and the habit is gone, it may not work that way. Instead, tools and resources are available to help change our habits, and it is best to use these proven supports.
God doesn’t expect us to be superheroes; it’s okay if we can’t quit a habit cold turkey. Sometimes, it takes time and tools to achieve our goal. In my case, I used a patch to quit smoking, and it took me ten weeks to succeed. I followed the steps, prayed for strength, and thanked God for every successful day until I was finally free and no longer needed the patch.
Seek Support For Changing Habits
Stopping a bad habit can be challenging, and seeking support and encouragement from others can make a big difference. Having someone to talk to is always helpful when you’re feeling tempted, frustrated, or overwhelmed. You could reach out to a friend or family member who has successfully quit a similar habit or consider joining a support group or seeking help from a professional. Just be sure to reach for someone who supports your changes rather than someone who benefits from you remaining stuck in old ways.
Remember, you don’t have to go through this alone; there’s no shame in asking for help. It may be beneficial to surround yourself with supportive Christian communities. Share your struggles and celebrate your successes with a trusted friend, church family, small group, or a mentorship program. When you are in a group, they may teach you new skills or coping mechanisms via counseling or group therapies. Knowing you’re not alone in your journey can be a powerful source of strength and motivation.
A trusted friend or mentor can also hold you accountable for your goals when you share your progress, setbacks, and prayer requests with them. Their support and encouragement can help you stay on track and overcome challenges.
Pray Through Challenges and Praise Through Success When Breaking Habits
The last step in changing our habits brings us back to the first step: praying. We pray through every challenge, and when we have overcome it, we praise God for His faithfulness. As we long to get closer to God, His Holy Spirit will continue challenging us to live in a manner that is more aligned with God’s will and standards. Each time the Holy Spirit reveals an area we must change, we must repeat these steps.
We must be willing to give up the old for the new, and we must be willing to let go of anything that does not honor God. He will help us, but we must willingly let it go as we seek to continue to move forward in our walk with God.
Let’s Pray To Change Our Habits
Breaking habits is a difficult task, but it is possible. We all have the power to overcome bad habits and replace them with new ones that will bring us closer to God. Identifying and acknowledging your bad habits is the first step, followed by prayer. Let’s pray together and start aligning our lives with God’s Word.
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