6 Powerful Habits To Include God Every Day

I know that Jesus belongs in every aspect of my life. But actually acting on the call to include God every day? That can be tougher than it sounds.

Life gets busy. I get so distracted and my spiritual well-being falls way too low on the priority list. Because I know this is something we all struggle with, I’ve compiled a list of habits that bring me closer to Jesus. These are things I know I can do to include God every day, and every time I do, the rest of my day seems much more manageable.

1. Include God in a specific morning routine.

When I drive to work, I choose a couple days a week and turn off the radio to thank Him for what is going on in my life. Some days I pray specifically for my marriage, others for my family, and still others for my job and my students.

To start a habit like this, I decided to pick something I always do in the morning and pray during that time. I still drive to my school building and teach from my classroom, so this was the perfect routine for me to start taking steps to include God every day.

I like to start with, “Thank you God for this day,” and that helps get me rolling.

Sometimes that’s as far as I get. When I didn’t sleep well the night before, have a ton on my to-do list and little time to do it, or have a stressful meeting coming up, it’s hard to be thankful. But God is still good in this times, and I need to acknowledge that every day, even with a short “Thank you for what You’re doing, even if I don’t love it.”

If you want to start a similar habit but don’t drive to work, your drive isn’t very far, or you really love that morning podcast time, choose anything else that’s regularly part of your routine. Brushing your teeth, starting the coffee pot, packing your lunch – even though these things only take a few minutes, giving those few minutes to God can make such a big difference in your perspective on the entire rest of the day.

“I have stored up your word in my heart…”

Psalm 119:11, ESV

2. Set a Bible app reminder.

I like to set mine for a time when I know I’ll have a minute to look at the verse that pops up or for a time of day when I get particularly tired or bored, because it’s nice to have something fresh to think about. For me, that’s right at the end of the school day when my teaching responsibilities are over and I have time to prepare and plan for the next day’s activities. I know that I’m usually not needed during that time, so I can take a few moments to look at my phone.

I love doing this because even if I don’t get around to spending intentional time in my Bible that day, I know I’ve at least been briefly exposed to God’s excellent and inspiring Word. This also helps me include God even when I have some screen time throughout the day.

Though I’m not proud to admit it, more than once the Bible app happily notifies me of my daily scripture, and I grumpily or distractedly ignore it. I’m not always “in the mood” to read the Bible. That’s why I keep those reminders going. Even if I choose to ignore them, the reminders keep on coming. To include God everyday, I know that sometimes I need a little extra push.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another…”

Ephesians 4:32, NIV

3. Practice kindness.

Every day I run into someone or something that frustrates me. Someone makes a mistake, bumps into me, doesn’t do something even though I reminded them several times. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not always very good at controlling my emotions (especially when it comes to my facial expressions…). So one way for me to include God everyday is by choosing a situation – in this case, a moment of frustration – and practicing living it out with WWJD in mind. For those of you who may not be well-versed in “Christian-ese”, that stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” 👼

Practicing kindness instead of frustration can be so hard to do though. How can I find the strength and the patience in that moment when my anger starts to build? I want to make this a meaningful (and manageable) way to include God in my life. A practical way I’ve learned to do this is by intentionally saying, “It’s okay.”

I try to say it right away, even before my frustration subsides. Practicing kindness can help anger fade faster, even though it’s tough in the moment. I like to think of it as flexing my patience muscle. The more I work on it, the bigger my capacity for patience will be – and Lord knows I always need work in this area.

I’ve been practicing this recently because I’ve realized my frustration with my husband is totally uncalled for. I let him know that it’s okay, even if I’m still upset because it’s also good for both of us to know that it’s okay to be upset. This immediately shifts the focus to include God in my relationships by having some healthy conversations.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…”

Colossians 3:23, NIV

4. Do your best.

My boss, my students, my colleagues, they don’t have to know that my best is for Jesus. If I make a conscious effort to be the best employee, the best teacher, the best professional (or for you, maybe the best mom, the best student, the best boss) – people will probably notice. This provides an opportunity to share about Jesus (when appropriate, and honestly in my profession, it often isn’t). But more importantly, it sets me apart from the average. God has called us to be a holy people, set apart for a better purpose (Deut 7:6), and sometimes this plays out in everyday life just by doing my best.

Sometimes I know that if I put in just a little less effort than my best, nobody will really notice. It doesn’t matter that much. But it does.

Even if no one else does, God notices. He sees that I spent those extra few minutes with a student finding out more about them, he sees that I take care of the dishes even when it isn’t my job, he sees every little bit of extra effort that goes into doing my best. And when I include God every day by doing my best, it brings me closer to living like Jesus.

5. Include God in the passing moments and pray for the little things.

So much of the day goes by without me thinking twice about a situation or a reaction I had or any number of things I interact with and quickly forget. But when I notice those passing moments and insert a little prayer into them, they become so much more. They become one more chance to infuse Jesus into everything I do.

Traffic was chaotic the other day and finding parking for an event became very stressful. After 10 minutes of driving around and around and around the mess of cars, I sighed with exasperation (crowded situations have a tendency to really get under my skin) and said, “Okay, God. If you could help this to calm down soon that would be great.”

We turned the corner and there was an open parking spot. Caleb and I thanked the Lord for His provision and went on our merry way.

Even the smallest prayers are heard because He is always listening! Does this mean He says yes to every one of them? No. I’ve prayed for green lights, football teams to win, and packages to arrive on time. And yet, lights stay red, teams lose, and packages are late. The point is asking God for help in every situation means you’re showing Him that you have faith in the small stuff, so when it comes to the big stuff, you’re practicing a really important habit.

I want to be transparent that some of these prayers are selfish. (This is probably why He doesn’t answer those silly ones.)

But the work I’m doing here is working on forming a habit. God cares about every aspect of my life, even the inconsequential pieces that make up my day.

6. Thank God for the small ways He is working every day.

Those inconsequential things I’m praying for can also turn into things I’m thankful for. Like that front row parking spot or the short line at Starbucks. The fact that my car works. For comfortable clothes, for working electricity, for every small detail that makes my life function. God is in control of the universe. He is so, so good to allow me to have the things I do.

This quote brings up such a good point to get our thankful juices flowing.

Though we needn’t necessarily thank God for each worldly possession to ensure it’s all there tomorrow, it brings up a valid point. God could choose to radically change my life at any moment.

Being thankful for what I already have prepares me for what He could choose to do later.

This is a meaningful way to include God every day because intentional thankfulness is essential for spiritual growth. Thanking God every day for what He’s allowed in my life starts with the easy things. My family, my job, and other things I interact with daily will regularly come to mind. But by forming this habit, I have even started learning to be thankful for trials. A practice that has helped me immensely.

Final thoughts

I can’t pretend that I’m doing all of these things every day, but that’s sort of the point.

This list is about forming habits that we can all weave seamlessly into our lives. It’s about finding small ways to shift our time management and include a little more Jesus in our day. I’m not perfect. I don’t expect to be anytime soon. I do expect that I’ll keep coming back to these ideas. Because practice means progress, and progress is a practical goal.

What about you? How are you including God in your daily routine? Share in the comments below we can learn from and encourage each other in Christian community.

Yours,