A gracEmail subscriber writes, “I have trouble keeping up the discipline to read my Bible and to pray daily. I struggle with this, and I always backslide. It makes me think I’ve never been saved. Sometimes I think that if I just got rebaptized things would get better, but I don’t know if that would help. What can you recommend?”
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Do you have a Bible translation in modern English? If not, I encourage you to purchase one. The New International Version is excellent for reading with understanding. Find a time when you are unrushed and undisturbed. Some people pray before others wake in the morning, others late at night, others while driving to or from work each day. Never give up. Any discipline requires commitment and persistence, including spiritual discipline. Remember that 21 days of daily repetition usually creates a new habit — in this case, two very constructive ones.
You are right not to think that being baptized again would solve the problem. Baptism is the way Jesus gave new believers to publicly express their faith and to “take sides” with him over against an unbelieving world (Matt. 28:18-20), but it does not instantly take us to spiritual maturity. If you were not entrusting yourself to Jesus as your own Savior and Lord when you were baptized before, you might have unfinished business and rebaptism might be in order.
Your goal is an ever-deepening personal relationship with God and with Jesus Christ. Personal relationships take time. They require fellowship and communication. As you walk with Christ in honesty and openness each day, you will increasingly come to know his presence in your own life (John 14:23; James 4:8; Rev. 3:20).
