4 Ways to Build a Strong Spiritual Foundation at Home

1. Study God's Word

Jesus tells us that we must hear his words and put them into practice in order to build our house on the rock. In our modern context, that looks like studying God's Word.

Why is knowing the Bible so important? The Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired, living, and active Word of God. Reading God's Word is the best way to learn who God is and what he desires us to do with our lives. We learn from the stories of those who walked with God long ago, we read poems that shed light on how we wrestle with God from time to time, we gain wisdom from the prophets, and we can read the accounts of Jesus' life and death in the Gospels. There is so much to gain from studying the Bible and the culture that existed at the time it was written.

When we know the stories of the Bible, we can begin to know God better and practice his ways. The Bible has the power to guide us, correct us, convict us, change us, and motivate us. If we want our homes to have a solid spiritual foundation, we must prioritize reading and studying God's Word.

2. Embrace the Power of Prayer

Matthew 26:41 says, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Prayer not only connects us with God, but it also protects us. When we pray often, we are inviting God's Spirit into our daily lives, which guards us from harm and temptation. The point of having a strong spiritual foundation is protection. We need something stable to build our lives on so that we are grounded in truth when things get hard. The goal is an unshakable faith. That faith is built through daily conversations with God. It's this back and forth with Jesus that grows solid roots of relationship in our home.

James 1:5 states, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." Prayer is a vital part of our faith not only because it protects us but also because it is powerful! Things change when we pray. Our hearts change, our relationships change, our views change, and even our circumstances change. Prayer is the catalyst for forgiveness, is the precursor to miracles, and is the bedrock of our relationship with Jesus. Prayer is a vital part of building a solid spiritual environment in our homes.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/tatyana_tomsickova

3. Serve One Another with Love

Galatians 5:13 says, "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." God is love, and a huge part of what he tells us as his people is to serve one another through love. In 1 Corinthians 13, we are even told that if we do not have love, we have nothing. What a bold statement! Love is foundational to the Christian life.

We live out that love through acts of service towards the people we are closest to as well as towards those in our community that need to feel the real and tangible love of God through us.

Mother Teresa put it this way: "Love is a one-way street. It always moves away from self in the direction of the other. Love is the ultimate gift of ourselves to others. When we stop giving we stop loving, when we stop loving we stop growing, and unless we grow we will never attain personal fulfillment; we will never open out to receive the life of God. It is through love we encounter God."

We grow to know God more by loving others. Love is an action. It's giving something of ours away for the benefit of another. To be near God, we have to be near the brokenhearted. We have to serve the least of these. We have to accept God's love and turn around to freely give that same love away.

4. Live By Faith

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." In order to draw near to God, we have to have complete faith that he is who he says he is. That requires faith. Faith is fundamental to living a Christian life.

If we consider the great heroes of our faith in the Bible, they all share one thing in common: They did something in their lives that defied human logic and trusted God rather than following the world's way. Most of the time, the people around them thought they were crazy!

Noah built an ark before God invented rain. Abraham believed he would have many offspring with a wife that was barren. Moses went to free a whole nation by being God's mouthpiece, all the while struggling with a speech impediment. David went after a giant as an unarmed shepherd boy. It was an unshakable faith that pushed these heroes to move past what the natural world says is possible and trusted that God is the one that has the real final say!

If everything we do only trusts what we can reason to be true, then we aren't living with enough faith. To build a faith that lasts for generations, we have to trust God to show us how he can use us to do abundantly more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine!

When we surrender to God's way, our lives find a firm place to grow upon. Let God's gentle Holy Spirit guide you towards him. Jesus told us all we need is the faith of a mustard seed to see mountains moved (Matthew 17:20).

Related Resource: What Vital Question Do Many Parents Never Ask God?

There is a question that many Christian parents never ask God. Catherine and her husband didn’t ask God this question for the first two decades of their marriage, despite attending church weekly, tithing, going to small groups, and having daily devotionals. Hear what that question is in this must-listen episode of Christian Parent/Crazy World! Be sure to subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!