Grace for New Routines - Your Nightly Prayer - August 2

Britt Mooney

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Grace for New Routines

Your Nightly Prayer

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:20

SOMETHING TO PONDER

New growth often requires a new discipline. It might not necessarily mean more time, but becoming more like Christ shifts our motivation and approaches to spiritual formation. We might need to add a new discipline, such as fasting. Our prayers might need a refreshing outlook. A different Bible reading plan can help us view Scripture from another perspective.

Routines are great, but we can get legalistic or religious about them. We get stuck within a routine, relying upon them instead of the Spirit’s leading.

First, we must be sensitive to the Spirit about our routines. How does God want us to engage with these disciplines? There are hundreds of ways to pray, read the Bible, serve our community, fast, and more. Staying sensitive to the Spirit includes realizing when we’ve hit a rut.

Second, we check in with the Spirit regularly, asking ourselves whether there is a new way to engage with a discipline. For example, I prayed for decades without a journal. Over the last year, as I have learned more about prayer, God has had me write down more things like gratitude and requests.

Third, we must be wise about our time, making gradual changes. A great way to give up on a new routine is to take on too much at once. Then be consistent with one before adding another.

Fourth, don’t give in to shame when we miss a day. Things happen. Be intentional and get back to the routine God has called us to.

God’s grace empowers us to walk in his leading. When God guides us to a new routine with conviction from the Spirit, then his grace will support and enable us to be faithful, continuing to grow more into Christ.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Heavenly Father,

Guide me by your Spirit while I seek to grow in Christ. Show me where I have relied on routine more than my relationship with you, and renew my passion for spiritual disciplines. Give me wisdom to make changes with patience and faithfulness. Give me ears to hear your leading and the courage to embrace new ways to pray and study the Bible. Help me refuse shame when I stumble or fall short. Strengthen me through a fresh infusion of your grace to shape me more into the likeness of Christ.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. What are some ways you feel like you’ve gotten into a rut with your spiritual disciplines?

2. What are some new ways God is leading you to engage with spiritual discipline?

3. How can you choose one reasonable change and begin there?

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Viacheslav Peretiatko

Britt Mooney Britt Mooney lives and tells great stories. As an author of fiction and non-fiction, he is passionate about teaching ministries and nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire and spread truth. Mooney has a podcast called Kingdom Over Coffee and is a published author of We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth as well as Say Yes: How God-Sized Dreams Take Flight.

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