The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

Luke 17:5

We all have routines and rituals, specific things we do consistently every day. Sometimes we don’t even think about them. They are the small daily habits that make up our days. But there is an important difference between routines and rituals. 

Routines are our mental checklists, our daily, generally mindless list of chores. They are necessary but not really meaningful or motivating activities. Most of us have morning routines that include eating breakfast, showering, brushing our teeth, getting dressed, etc. They are all necessary tasks, but our minds aren’t fully engaged while we do them. Rituals, on the other hand, are meaningful practices, rather than tedious tasks. Rituals are activities we complete that have a positive effect on our lives apart from the task. Rituals are attitudes and activities with purpose, such as praying, exercising, reading the Bible, and attending church. 

Your faith is like a muscle. It will grow strong when it is used, and it will grow weak when it is not. It’s the rituals you put into practice in your faith that determine the quality, the strength, and the size of your faith. God gives you opportunities to grow your faith through His Word, through prayer, and through community. What rituals are you doing every day to grow in your faith? Do your daily rituals lead you closer to God or farther away? Do they result in positive changes in your life? If the positive habits, the rituals in your days, are not exceeding the mindless routines, things need to change if you want your faith to grow strong. Start taking steps to create rituals for spiritual growth. One year from today, you could look back and regret that you have not yet taken those steps. And your faith will be weak. But if you do, in one year, you will be SO glad you started today! And you will have faith that can move mountains! You are deeply loved!