A habit is any action or behavior that you do on a regular basis. There are both good habits (developed by good actions) and bad habits (developed by bad actions).
Most of the actions you do on a daily basis are habitual. Today you will most likely do the same things you did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Tomorrow you will have exactly the same results you have today, unless you change your habits. 
Your life is the sum of all your habits. Every area of your life has been shaped by your habits. Habits, both good and bad, create who you are.
My health is the result of my habits.
My wealth is the result of my habits
My books are the result of my habits.
My weight is the result of my habits.
My friendships are the result of my habits.
My productivity is the result of my habits.
First, you form habits, then habits form you. After you develop a habit, you become a servant to that habit.
When I first started writing, I was a horrible writer. But I decided to spend one hour every day typing on my computer. At first it was torture, but eventually I started to get better. Now, I have written fourteen books mainly because I forced myself to develop the habit of writing.
A habitual action becomes a well-worn groove in your mind. Like an old fashioned record player where the same song plays every time the needle drops, your mind eventually plays the exact same tune over and over again. As a sign said on a particularly bumpy road, “Pick your rut carefully, because you will be in it for the next two hundred miles.”
If you are satisfied with your life, congratulations, you have good habits. If there is some area of your life you are no happy with, change your habits.
The good news is that habits can change. Mike Murdock says, “Anything you do twice becomes easier to do again” Experts say, “If you do something continually every day for thirty days, it will become a new habit.” Small daily changes will eventually add up to huge changes over the course of your lifetime. Tiny stones thrown on a pile in time become a big mountain.
How to Change Your Habits
The best way to begin changing your habits is by changing your thinking. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”(Romans 12:2). The pattern of this world is a set of habits. This pattern of habits is often called the rat-race of life. It is composed of the continual search for another dollar, the lusting after wrong things, the coveting of a neighbor’s worldly goods, or the search for adventure; all of these things form a pattern of habits. People wake up in the morning, and they race through the day, thinking only of themselves, and then they fall into bed at night without accomplishing anything. Every day, God is not acknowledged, and the person continues to live a life of sin, day in and day out, for an entire life.
A change of habits will only come with a change of mind. This change of mind must occur through God’s word. The only way to renew your mind is by knowing God.
When you renew your mind with God’s word, you begin to think like Jesus. When you think like Jesus, you act like Jesus. Suddenly, habits change. The worldly pattern of lying, cheating, stealing, coveting, and hatred is suddenly transformed.
A new set of habits begins to form in the place of the old habits. The habit of loving others, the habit of being thankful, the habit of worshiping God; these are the habits of a person whose mind has been renewed by the word of God. Focus shifts from, “me, me, me” to “God, God, God” The question changes from “What do I want to do?” to “What does God want me to do?”
What Does the Bible Say About Habits?
- God has a habit of being merciful.“Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name”(Psalm 119:132 NKJV).
- Daniel had a habit of praying 3 times every day (Dan 6:10). He continued this habit even when it put his life in danger.“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days”(Daniel 6:10 NKJV).
- Jesus had a habit of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath.“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read”(Luke 4:16 NKJV).
- Jesus made a habit of spending time with His Father.“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there”(Matthew 14:23 NKJV).
- Paul warned against those who form bad habits.“Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to”(1 Timothy 5:13 NIV).
- The writer of Hebrews told us to form good habits, like going to church.“not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching”(Hebrews 10:25 NIV).
About Daniel King
Evangelist Daniel King, D.Min is on a mission to lead people to Jesus. He has visited over seventy nations preaching good news and he has led over two million people in a salvation prayer. To support King Ministries in our quest for souls, click here!
