5 Common Pitfalls That Can Hinder Your Spiritual Growth

1. Not developing a personal prayer life.

One of the most common pitfalls to spiritual growth is overlooking the need for your own prayer life. As believers, we are blessed to know that God desires to spend time with us in prayer. There are so many promises and benefits that come from spending time in prayer.

• Joy in his presence (Psalm 16.11)

• Help in time of need (Isaiah 41:10)

• Peace that passes understanding (Philemon 4:6-7)

• The ability to cast off your anxieties (1 Peter 5:7)
  

If you are neglecting prayer, you are cutting off one of the fundamentals of your relationship with God. Imagine being in a relationship with someone, living in the same house, and you never speak to each other. Not only is that awkward, but that is evidence of a very unhealthy relationship. When you choose not to pray, that is exactly the type of relationship you are creating with God. Always remember, God is always ready and willing to meet with you in prayer. The question for you is, are you ready and willing to do the same?

2. Neglecting your Bible.

There was a study by Pew Research that looked into how often Christians read their Bible. Here were the results. I warn you now they are not too encouraging.

• 45% read their Bible at least once per week.

• 12% read their Bible once or twice a month.

• 9% read their Bible several times per year.

• 33% seldom or never read their Bible.  

May I remind you this is a survey of Christians. Let me frame it in another way. Fifty-five percent of Christians read their Bible once or twice a month or less. I wonder if those who are in the once or twice a month category are referring to reading the Bible when they are in church. Is there any wonder why Christians are not growing and maturing in their faith? 

If you are not reading the Bible, this means you are consuming a lot of other things, many of which I can assure you are not good for your spiritual development. In the same way, you cannot be physically healthy if you don’t eat or if you only consume junk food. You cannot be spiritually healthy if you neglect God’s word. This is not something you can take lightly. If you don’t know your word, you are subject to deception. You won’t know how to live as God wants you to, and every wind of doctrine or any other nonsense the world throws your way can twist and turn you. In short, you are doing yourself a disservice and stunting your growth if you ignore God’s word. 

There are so many verses in the Bible that highlight the benefit of God’s word. Let me remind you of just one.

3. Not being properly discipled.

One of the last instructions Jesus gave his disciples before he left was to go and make more disciples. As part of that, he said to teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. If we are discipling people correctly, it should not only focus on what you believe but also on how you should live. If you have not received proper discipleship, it may not be your fault, especially if you are a new believer. As a new believer, you are depending on those who have more experience than you to show you the way. If they are unable, unwilling, or neglectful, then this can hinder your spiritual growth. If you have never been discipled, make sure you inform the leadership in your church that you want to be. Hopefully, they will be excited about this, and it is something they will be ready and willing to help you with.

4. Trying to be a lone ranger.

More and more, it seems as if people are forsaking the need to be connected to a local body of believers. Either they don’t understand the need, or they just ignore the need. I have heard the gamut of reasons people are choosing to forsake being part of a local church and unfortunately, none of them are good long-term reasons. If you are a lone ranger, you are setting yourself up for trouble. 

The first thing God said about man that wasn’t good is it is not good for man to be alone. That truth has not changed. The Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation, but in connection with other believers. One of the major ways we can do that is through the local church. There is so much value that is derived from being in fellowship and relationship with other believers and it is to your detriment to neglect this. God did not design you to be a lone ranger, so stop thinking that reality does not apply to you. 

5. Bad influences.

The Bible warns us repeatedly about the danger of being associated with people of bad or questionable character. Here are a few just to remind you.

The truths of these scriptures are clear. Hang with the wrong people and it will stunt your growth. If you are going to grow in the things of God, you need to be around people who have that same desire. I am not saying you can’t have friends who are not believers. I am saying be wise in the ones you choose and how close you get to them. If you are wondering if someone is a good or bad influence, just look at how your behavior changes when you are around them. Consider the things you think about and talk about when you are with them. Looking at those things honestly will give you all the answers you need and hopefully help you decide if that person is good for you or not.

Final Thought

If there is a pitfall hindering your spiritual growth, the only remedy is to get rid of it. Don’t be nice with it, but be ruthless in removing this thing. I know the longer these things linger the more difficult they become to move away from. If something is present in your life deal with it and do it quickly.