What is your faith to you? For a lot of people, especially those who are brought up in the church and don’t take much time to inspect their own faith, it might be something that’s innate, passive, and simple. “The faith of a child,” as it was once put. However, if you’re been looking to strengthen your connection with your faith, you might want to do more than pray and go to church. Here are some of the ways to spend more time with God, and why it’s worth it.
You can better know your scripture
A lot of people, even those of deep faith, have never read the Bible fully. This doesn’t mean that their faith is lesser and, indeed, for the majority of Christianity’s existence, most believers weren’t able to read the Bible as it was typically only written in Latin. However, we don’t have that problem today and we even have more convenient opportunities to engage with it such as audio bibles that you can listen to at any time, such as on your commute.
Learn more about your faith
If you find yourself pondering the scripture that you hear or read, or you wonder the deeper meaning of the prayers that you say, there’s a lot of depth to be discovered when it comes to your faith. With the help of things like online theology courses, you don’t have to be restrained in how you explore your faith. Learning more about your beliefs doesn’t spoil or diminish them. In fact, it can help you get a more holistic appreciation of God through your daily life.
It can help you find your moment of peace throughout the day
The way that you spend time with and engage with God doesn’t have to be anything especially disciplined or structured, either. One practice that can help is to take what time you can find, even a few minutes in the day, to sit, be at peace, and to say a prayer or even a few faith-based affirmations. Simply by taking the time to keep God in your mind, you can quickly remind yourself of lessons you’ve learned and thoughts you’ve pondered about your beliefs, and you can take them with you through the day.
Remind yourself to be good to others
Faith is not something you practice only in your own heart. It should reflect how you treat others as well. If your faith doesn’t involve charity, giving, or volunteering to help, even those outside of your faith community, then you should consider changing that. Taking the time to spend a little more of the day with God can then help you reflect on how you treat others. Perhaps you’ve been dealing with stress, for instance, and let it out on others. A reminder of your faith can help you course-correct for the rest of the day. Faith can help you put more positive energy out into the world, which can help you stay positive in times of challenge, too.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a more passive and simple faith. However, for those that seek more, there is always more to find if you’re willing to open your heart and dedicate your time.
Michelle S. Lazurek is a multi-genre award winning author, speaker, pastor’s wife and mother. She is a regular contributor for ibelieve.com and crosswalk.com and is a movie reviewer for Movieguide Magazine. She also is a literary agent for Wordwise Media Services. When not working, she enjoys sipping a Starbucks latte, collecting 80s memorabilia, and spending time with her family and her crazy dog, Cookie. For more info, please visit her website www.michellelazurek.com.
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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