Acknowledge God Throughout the Day 

The Bible tells us David, the king of Israel, had many enemies — both outside and inside his home. Despite this, he kept himself spiritually strong by putting into practice the fifth empowering daily habit, which is to take time to acknowledge God throughout the day. 

In Psalm 119:164, David said, “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.” Although he was surrounded by injustice, David made it a point to praise God again and again. He learned to stop throughout the day and say things like, “Regardless of all the people scheming around me, God, You are still on the throne and in control of my life.” By stopping to acknowledge God’s justness, David reminded himself of God’s goodness and kept his mind and emotions under control. And as you do this each day, the same thing will happen for you. 

Take Time to Stop Throughout the Day

You may be thinking, How can I remember to stop seven times a day to acknowledge God? It’s actually not as hard as you may think. One of the easiest ways to do this is to set an alarm or reminder on your phone to go off throughout the day. Each time it sounds, take a moment to pause and simply declare what the Bible says about God in spite of your challenging situation or how you may feel at the moment. It can take less than a minute, and it’s easy to do. You can declare things like:   

• “God, You are all-powerful and nothing nor anyone is stronger than You (see First Chronicles 29:12). I will not be taken down by this situation.”   
• “God, You are all-knowing; You see everything going on in my life and in the entire world. You have delivered me from problems in the past, and You will deliver me from the things I’m currently facing” (see Hebrews 4:13; Psalm 37:17).   
• “God, my times and my life are in Your hands. No one can touch me or take me down as I rest and trust in You” (see Psalm 31:15; John 10:28-30). 

This purposeful recognition of God is what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Your mind will never automatically begin focusing on eternal, heavenly things. You must purposefully harness your thoughts and bring them into alignment with God’s Word. If you will learn to develop this practice every day, God’s peace will flood your mind and emotions, and your life will take on new meaning.