5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Faith in the New Year

Do you want to grow your faith this year and be closer to God? What about having a more robust prayer life?

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Do you feel distant from the Lord and want to change that?

We all want to grow in our faith and feel as close to the Lord as we can be.

We can do a few things guaranteed to help us grow in our faith.

Praying grows your faith.

First, we need to pray. But not just the general prayers; we have gotten into a rut praying.

We need to be intentional about our prayers. We need to be intentional about our goal to grow in our faith.

God never lies, and every word of the Bible is true. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people. who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Jeremiah 29:13 God tells us, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Since we know that God never lies, we can be assured that when we genuinely seek Him, we WILL find Him.

Praying for God to strengthen us and help us grow in our faith is absolutely a prayer that He will answer. God wants a close and loving relationship with us.

But God is not a genie in a bottle! We don’t just pray when we need something, and He is our last resort. We must go to Him in prayer daily.

Bible study grows your faith.

I love reading my Bible. Even though I’ve read it many times, I still learn something new each time. This is because God will use the same verse to speak to me at different times and in different situations.

Hebrews 4:12 describes it perfectly in this passage. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” ESV

I can absolutely vouch for that! You should hear the conversations God and I sometimes have.

I try to explain my anger, and He reminds me of a verse about forgiveness. Or I’ll try to explain to God why He should really listen to me and do things my way because, in my mind, it’s a great plan!

Then God reminds me He has a plan for my life, and “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Hebrews 55:8

I never seem to win these arguments, and thank God I don’t. Hindsight is always 20/20!

You can get your FREE SOAP Bible Study Method right here!

Bible journaling helps to grow your faith.

Don’t you just LOVE Pinterest?!! I can get lost in the rabbit hole of amazement at all the things on Pinterest. Board and pins were saved with the promise that I would do whatever day caught my eye.

Ha, ha! I’ll probably never do a quarter of those things, but one thing I have made a goal for the new year is Bible journaling.

The more I read about it and see “all the things,” I really want to do this!

Just writing in a Bible freaks me out, except for highlighters and notes with dates of what God was speaking to me at the time.

But people I have talked to say it helps them slow down and focus on a particular passage. It also helps with memorization and really understanding the meaning.

There are many Bibles out now just for this. This is just one of the Bibles made for Bible journaling. There are others as well. Although I have seen people literally color over an entire page in their Bible about one verse, this is not for me.

I still need to read the rest of the page, so personally, I like the ones where you journal in the margin. Also, those just getting started on this Bible journal journey say that 5 times fast, we won’t have a mini-stroke at the thought of writing all over our Bibles!

Many people use washi tape and stickers and even make their own Bible tabs! I made my own Bible tabs, and I love them!!

Of course, you can use whatever you feel comfortable with that makes it more personal to you. For example, some people use colored pens, highlighters, colored pencils, or watercolor kits! They even have watercolor pencils just for Bible journaling.

Oh, I can’t wait to get started!

Talking to other Christian women

This may seem like a no-brainer that we talk to our friends. But do you really talk to your friends?

Social media is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing to keep up with family and friends who don’t live close by and save all the pics of my kids and grandkids!

But it’s a curse in that a lot of it is a lie. We all try to put on a front and make people believe we have perfect lives, families, and holidays; the list is endless.

Truth be told, NONE of us have perfect lives. We are human, and all of our “people” are human, so mistakes will be made, and people will disappoint and hurt us.

Whatever you do, if you get nothing else from this post, please find at least one friend you can talk to. Talk to her about all the messy stuff that weighs heavily on your heart, what keeps you up at night and drives you crazy!

Then you and this friend need to take it all to the Lord. Matthew 18:20 tells us, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” NIV

How awesome is that?! God promises to be with us, as He will be in our presence when at least two of us gather in His name!

Be careful that this doesn’t turn into a gripe/gossip session because we all know how easy that is. But having a trusted friend that you can call or text anytime and just say, “I need you to pray,” is a blessing.

We can hold each other accountable for reading our Bibles, studying, praying, and praising.

I am so blessed to have a small group of women I have met through blogging, and even though we have never met in person and live in all different parts of America, they are my go-to any time of day or night prayer warriors!

We pray for each other, share what is going on in our lives, spiritual lives, families, etc., and pray daily. In addition, we share praise reports which encourage the rest of us.

One word of caution here. If you are a married woman, your go-to person must be another woman. Not a man. Not a married man or a single man. You do not want to open any door that satan can worm his way into and cause sin to creep into your life.

Singing with Praise and Worship Music

This is a great way to help grow your faith! Now the Bible says God has given each of us a gift. I LOVE to turn the music up and sing until I’m hoarse. But this is not my gift, lol.

However, the Bible doesn’t say we have to have a beautiful voice of an angel to sing praises. I can prove it.

Psalm 100 “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! it is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

How awesome is that! You don’t have to have a beautiful voice; it just says make a joyful noise! We can all do that. (Even better, the author uses exclamation marks which I love!)

There are so many great praise and worship songs out today. I have a whole playlist on my phone. It’s incredible to just drive and sing and praise God. I always feel better, and I’m in a better mood when I have time to do that.

Conclusion

So there you have it. Five simple ways to help you grow your faith in the new year. I’d love to hear what you are doing to help you grow in your walk with Christ!

Is there a specific Bible study method you use? Do you have pics you would like to share of your Bible journaling? I’d love to see them!

Please share any ideas you have that may help the rest of us. We are all in this together, sister, so share, share, share. Don’t forget to pray for each other, and know that God hears your prayer!

You can get your FREE SOAP Bible Study Method right here!