Breaking Habits

Breaking Habits

Bible Blast: Read Matthew 6:9-13

We are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 1 John 5:14

When I was younger I had a really bad habit of sleeping in even when my alarm clock was blaring. My mom tried every trick in the book to wake me up. It was never easy. I still have a hard time waking up, and I think I’ve passed the bad habit on to my kids Rob and Lexi. (Autumn is my only early bird.) I wish I had disciplined myself to wake up the first time that alarm goes off.

Lots of people have bad habits. Some of the most common bad habits are

nail biting

knuckle cracking

hair twirling

late-night snacking

gum popping

The list could go on and on. Habits can be really hard to break, especially since something about the habits feels good and is somehow satisfying.

One way to deal with a habit is to have someone else alert you when you’re doing it without realizing it. This can be tough, but it’s effective. Think how quickly you would stop cracking your knuckles if every time you did it your brother threw a Nerf football at you!

Another great way to stop a bad habit is prayer. I don’t mean you need to sit down and give God a three-hour explanation of why you feel bad about twirling your hair. I recommend that you pray an honest prayer, talking to God as if he were sitting across from you listening—because he is.

People can slip into lazy, repetitive habits in their prayer lives. You know what I mean. Do you pretty much pray the same thing every time you get ready to eat? It becomes like more of a habit or a poem you recite instead of a real prayer.

Jesus encouraged people to pray from their hearts. Talk to God from your heart about your bad habit, and he will help you.

Girl Gab: Mom, did you have any bad habits when you were a kid? How about now? Daughter, talk to your mom about any bad habits you want to be rid of. Pray together from your hearts about your bad habits and help each other overcome them.