Faith: How Do Good Habits Make Following Jesus Easier?
- Dr. Layne McDonald
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
By Dr. Layne McDonald
Good habits make following Jesus easier by reducing the friction between your current reality and the life God is calling you to lead. By building systems of grace into your daily routine: like keeping your Bible visible or stacking prayer with your morning coffee: you move from relying on fluctuating willpower to living out of a consistent spiritual structure. These small, repeated actions align your environment with your identity in Christ, making obedience the path of least resistance.
The Exhaustion of Willpower
Have you ever noticed how some days it feels like you are dragging your spirit through the mud just to pray for five minutes? We often treat our faith like a heavy lift at the gym. We think that if we just "try harder" or "love Jesus more," we will naturally become more like Him. But the truth is that willpower is a finite resource. It runs out by 2:00 PM when the kids are screaming, the emails are piling up, and you just want to scroll through your phone for an hour.
The great digital disconnect we often feel in our spiritual lives stems from a lack of intentional architecture. We want the fruit of the Spirit, but we haven't built the soil of our daily systems to support it. Following Jesus was never meant to be a constant struggle against your own schedule. When we look at the life of Christ, we see a man of rhythms. He had a habit of withdrawing to lonely places to pray. He had a routine of being in the synagogue. He didn't just "find time" for the Father; He built His life around the Father.
Biblical Foundation: The Easy Yoke
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus gives us one of the most beautiful invitations in the Bible. He tells us to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This sounds contradictory to the "work harder" gospel we often preach to ourselves. How can a yoke be easy? A yoke is a tool for work. But a well-fitted yoke makes the work manageable. It distributes the weight.
Good habits are the "well-fitted yoke" of the Christian life. They don't replace grace; they are the tracks that grace runs on. Think about Daniel in the Old Testament. In Daniel 6:10, when a decree was signed that could cost him his life, what did he do? He went to his room and prayed three times a day, just as he had done before. Daniel didn't have to decide to pray in a moment of crisis. The decision was already made years prior through the power of a daily habit. His system supported his soul when his circumstances became life-threatening.
The Deeper Truth: Reducing Spiritual Friction
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, talks extensively about the concept of friction. If you want to go to the gym, you lay out your clothes the night before. You reduce the friction. In the spiritual realm, we often do the opposite. We hide our Bibles under a stack of mail and then wonder why we don't read them. We leave our phones by the bed and then wonder why the first thing we do is check social media instead of talking to God.
Reducing spiritual friction means making the right thing the easy thing. If you want to pray more, put a prayer card on your bathroom mirror. If you want to listen to more worship music, set your car radio or Spotify to play it the moment you turn the key. You are not "cheating" by making faith easier. You are being a wise steward of your environment. (I used to think that unless it was difficult, it didn't count as "real" devotion. I was wrong. God isn't impressed by your struggle; He’s moved by your heart’s direction.)
The Identity Shift
One of the most powerful shifts in habit formation is moving from "outcome-based habits" to "identity-based habits." Instead of saying "I am trying to read the Bible more," you say "I am a follower of Jesus who listens to His voice." When your habits are rooted in your identity as a child of God, they stop being chores and start being expressions of who you are.
As the Connection Pastor at Boundless Online Church, I see this all the time. People who view themselves as "members of a community" show up more than people who view church as a "service they attend." When you identify as a worshiper, you find ways to worship even when you are folding laundry. Your habits don't earn your identity; they reflect it.
Real-Life Example: The Morning Choice
Imagine two people, Sarah and Mark. Sarah wants to grow closer to God. Every morning, she wakes up, grabs her phone, and immediately gets sucked into news alerts and Instagram. By the time she gets to the kitchen, she’s stressed and running late. She tells herself she will pray later, but "later" never comes.
Mark has decided to make following Jesus easier. He puts his phone in another room at night. On his nightstand, he has a physical Bible and a journal. When his alarm goes off, the first thing his hand touches is the Word of God. He has removed the friction of the phone and added a cue for the Bible. Mark isn't more "holy" than Sarah, but his system is more supportive of his soul. He has engineered his environment to favor his faith.
Practical Life Hack: Habit Stacking
The easiest way to start a new spiritual habit is to "stack" it onto something you already do without thinking. This is called Habit Stacking. The formula is: After [Current Habit], I will [New Spiritual Habit].
For example: After I pour my first cup of coffee, I will read one Psalm. After I pull out of my driveway, I will thank God for three things. After I close my laptop for the day, I will pray for my coworkers.
By anchoring your spiritual growth to physical triggers that already exist, you bypass the need for massive willpower. You are letting your life’s natural rhythms carry your faith forward.
Top 5 Takeaways
Discipline is a form of love. When you build good habits, you are showing God that your relationship with Him is worth protecting.
Environment is stronger than willpower. Stop trying to "try harder" and start designing your space to cue your faith.
Small wins lead to big transformation. A five-minute prayer habit done daily for a year is more powerful than a one-hour prayer session done once a month.
Friction is the enemy of consistency. Identify what makes it hard to follow Jesus: distractions, clutter, or bad timing: and remove those barriers.
Habits are about direction, not perfection. If you miss a day, don't quit. Just get back on the track. God's mercies are new every morning.
What This Means for You Today
You don't need to reinvent your entire life by tomorrow morning. Following Jesus isn't a sprint; it's a long walk in the same direction. If you feel stuck, it might not be a lack of faith: it might be a lack of a system. When you lower the friction, you create a space where the Holy Spirit can move without being crowded out by the noise of a chaotic schedule.
You are a child of God. Your Father wants to walk with you through every moment of your day. By creating these small "easier" paths, you are simply opening the door for Him to step in. (And let's be honest, we all need Him to step in more often than we'd like to admit.)
Reflection Question
What is one 'spiritual friction' point in your day—something that makes it hard to focus on God—and how can you remove it this week?
Small Action Step
Choose one habit you already have (like brushing your teeth or starting the car) and "stack" a 60-second prayer of gratitude on top of it for the next three days.
gentle invitation
If you want to go deeper into building a life that reflects your true north, I invite you to explore the resources we have waiting for you. From music that sets the atmosphere for prayer to coaching that helps you navigate your unique calling, we are here to walk with you.
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I would love to hear how these habits are working for you. What is one 'spiritual friction' point in your day—something that makes it hard to focus on God—and how can you remove it this week? You can chat with me or my team directly on the website any time.
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