Two Simple but Powerful Spiritual and Personal Growth Practices
Many Sincere Believers Stay Stuck in Their Transformation Journey, These Two Practices Really Help
Positive Growth and Change is a Partnership with God
When we put our trust in Jesus alone to put us in right standing with God, soooo many incredible things happen all at once. The Apostles take pages and pages to write just some of the amazing things that happen at a spiritual level.
We become children of God, we receive the gift of eternal life, our spirit is made brand new, we become part of Jesus and He comes to live in us by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We receive, in seed form, all the fruits , the character of the Holy Spirit. We receive all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places and everything that has to do with both life and godliness.
I’ve never counted all these incredible benefits out, but there are hundreds if not thousands of them.
One of the greatest benefits is God’s commitment to form us into the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:15, Romans 8:29, Philippians 1:6).
We can rest in the reality that what God started in us He will complete.
Spiritual and Personal Transformation Requires Our Cooperation
But even though all these incredible things are ours in the spiritual dimension, it takes time and our cooperation for them to become part of our experience.
God invites us into growth and positive change, but He doesn’t force it down our throats.
Saying “Yes” to God is probably the most powerful thing you could ever say to Him because that gives Him permission to do what He desires to do in you and through you.
2 Simple, Powerful Transformation Practices
Interacting with God in His Word (the Bible) and Prayer are always the core practices of spiritual growth. I’ve been studying the Bible for over 4 decades and I still see fresh insights all the time. There is no other book like it…filled with the thoughts, principles, and heart of God.
Prayer has so many different shapes and sizes and there are so many dimensions to our God, that it too, can be a new experience over and over again.
And hanging out with God, talking with Him, asking Him to work in lives and situations, and so much more that can happen in prayer keep it such a privilege and means of transformation too.
But the two practices I want to point you two today, keeping the Bible and prayer as your lifeline, help us cooperate with the Holy Spirit at a higher level as He lovingly works to heal, liberate, empower, and grow us.
They are super, super simple, but are easy to overlook.
- Schedule it.
When I was a new Christian and wanted to learn the basics of prayer, I studied the Bible and read books by people who seemed to know what they were talking about.
I can’t tell you how many of these wise, famous, experienced people of prayer wrote about having set devotion times. Sometimes Christians think that to be led by the Holy Spirit means it’s always going with spontaneous thoughts and impressions.
But all of these prayer legends said they had set times for prayer, Bible study, and growth practices. Then I saw that Jesus, Paul, and Peter, plus Moses, David, and Daniel ALL had set times for prayer and study.
They didn’t leave their growth and transformation to how they felt that day. They put it down on their calendar and stuck with it.
Repetition is key to lasting growth and transformation in any area of life, and that includes knowing God, experiencing God in devotions.
Schedule It.
2. Awareness.
Lots of psychologists who specialize in making positive changes emphasize awareness as a starting point.
If you’ve ever worked with a weight loss coach or a financial advisor it’s not unusual at all for them to ask you to make a log of your eating or your spending for a few weeks.
Even Professor Friedrickson, well known for being an expert in positive psychology, recommends practicing awareness of thoughts through journaling in order to start making positive changes.
The Bible tells us a major part of transformation is “the renewing of our minds.” (Romans 12:2) When we change our thoughts, we eventually change our words and actions.
In my own journey and in coaching clients I’ve seen tracking our dominant thoughts for a couple of weeks is really helpful in a couple of ways.
One: it gives a more accurate baseline of where your mind is going throughout the day. When we have a clearer picture of where we are right now, it’s so much easier to figure out how to get to where we want to go.
And it’s so encouraging, after a few months of the right kinds of practices, to go back and see the strong growth that has happened.
Two: Often, simply becoming aware of our thoughts or actions helps us make positive changes. One of the legendary performance coaches in the world, John Whitmore, has seen people make powerful changes simply by focusing on a certain aspect of their running or tennis or speaking.
Without even trying to change, by focusing on it, becoming aware of it, they made real progress.
I’ve seen this happen in my own relationship with God. I know God is with me always, but when I take just a few moments throughout the day to simply become aware of Him, I experience some aspect of His reality very quickly.
Just taking a moment to say, “Jesus, thank you that you are with me right now”, so often helps me experience Him right then. Awareness doesn’t make Jesus show up, it simply connects me to Him in my experience.
As you set your heart and mind on growing in Christ, keep God’s Word and Prayer your lifeline and then schedule your time with Him and practice some form of awareness. Those are great starting practices.
If you want more resources on living a Jesus-centered, Jesus-empowered life head over to www.TruVineMission.com
If you want training and/or coaching on clarifying and achieving God’s unique purposes for you life check out www.MarkFurlongCoaching.com
