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Our habits heavily influence how we live our lives. Many of these routines are natural and vital to our survival, such as sleeping at night, drinking water when we are thirsty, or eating food when we are hungry. Beyond these natural ones, God has also given us the ability to purposefully form other habits; a capability which, when used correctly, can greatly increase our spiritual growth, deepen our relationship with Christ, and prepare us for His callings. Unfortunately, we often allow our carnal desires to abuse this ability and enslave us to habitual sins that bring soul-crushing guilt, spiritual stagnation, and unending torment.
These consequences are true to Solomon's warning in Proverbs 13:15: that the way of the transgressor is a road of great difficulty and adversity. Fortunately, 1 Corinthians 15:57 and a host of other verses reveal that God's desire for us is a life of victory in Christ, not one of defeat and enslavement to habitual sin. While our struggles with the latter can seem perpetually inescapable, the Scriptures thankfully reveal three godly habits that can deliver us from our sinful ones.
One such habit is memorizing relevant Bible verses. The importance of Scripture memorization in overcoming sin is emphasized throughout the Word. For example, Joshua 1:8 states that retaining, meditating on, and obeying God's Word allows Him to bless our lives with His victory and prosperity. Also, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 notes how God uses all the Scripture's truths to correct us, train us for righteous living, and equip us for serving Him. In addition, Psalm 119:11 reveals that the power to abstain from sin comes from filling our hearts with memorized Scripture, which replaces our desires for sin with God's perfect ones. Thus, it is through memorizing and meditating on God's Word that He imparts to us the victory, correction, and transformation necessary to break the chains of habitual sin.
Another godly habit vital to overcoming these struggles is continual prayer. The key role prayer plays in defeating habitual sin is repeatedly discussed throughout the Scriptures. For example, Jesus explains in Matthew 26:41 how communing with Him heightens our awareness of His desires and provision, which empowers us to overcome temptation through the spirit rather than relying on our weak flesh. Also, James 5:16 notes how God strengthens us to overcome our sins when we confess them to our fellow believers and pray for one another. In addition, Mark 11:23-24 state that when we pray in faith according to God's will, believing He will answer these prayers, He will give us the same power that can move physical mountains to overcome our strongholds of habitual sin. Thus, the awareness, encouragement, and power necessary to overcome these sins comes from continual, fervent prayer that aligns with God's will.
One other godly habit paramount to overcoming our habitual sins is choosing obedience over pleasure. In Hebrews 11:24-26, we read how Moses faced this challenging predicament. Being raised by Pharoah's daughter, he was surrounded by unlimited opportunities to selfishly indulge in the sinful pleasures and worldly treasures of his pagan upbringing. However, the author of Hebrews reveals how Moses' faith and desire for God's righteousness moved him to humbly obey God and suffer with his people rather than yield to sin for its fleeting pleasures. Likewise, our struggles with habitual sin may feel like our souls are being assaulted with temptation like a rushing army. James 1:14-15 explain that the reason we give into these temptations is because our desires are aligned with those of our flesh rather than God's. Fortunately, 1 Corinthians 10:13 notes how God always provides a way for us to choose obedience over these temptations. This way is revealed in Galatians 5:16-24: living according to the Holy Spirit, who will put to death our fleshly desires and replace them with His desires and fruit when we obey Him. Through living this Spirit-led lifestyle, we realize that the Lord and His innumerable blessings infinitely surpass the fleeting pleasure of sin, thus enabling us to habitually obey Him, reject our former sin patterns, and overcome even the most enticing temptations.
Although our sinful habits can seem impossible to break, God's provision for deliverance proves Jesus' words in Matthew 19:26--that all things are possible with Him. As His Word reveals, He manifests this glorious liberation through us building the godly habits of memorizing Scripture, fervently praying, and choosing obedience. By continually submitting to God's work through these habits, sin's strongest chains and mightiest strongholds will collapse in the wake of Christ's resounding victory.
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