"The Motions" is a song by contemporary Christian singer-songwriter Matthew West from his third studio album, Something to Say. It was released in January 2009 as the album's third single. It reached number 1 on Christian adult contemporary radio in April 2009.

The song is about complacency and a desire to "break free from the average, ordinary, lukewarm Christian life", and was inspired by a June 2007 column that West wrote for CCM Magazine.

The song appeared in the compilation album WOW Hits 2010.

The song was originally inspired by a column that Matthew West wrote in the "Writer's Block" portion of CCM Magazine. During part of 2007, West was a contributing columnist to the magazine, primarily discussing the details and method of his songwriting. In June 2007, his column drew a comparison between songwriting and personal life, talking about "moving through the motions" and writing a "perfectly structured" song; it soon becomes evident, however, that the song lacks inspiration and cannot be "[awoken] from its apparent slumber". Soon afterward "The Motions" was written, based on that concept.

West said he wrote the song after being "tired of that constant settling for a stale faith. God is a God of passion. His true plan for our lives is anything but boring."

In April 2007, he had experienced vocal problems, which led to surgery and a prescribed period of silence for two months. He said that the experience "brought [the] song to life for me".

The song was released to Christian radio in the beginning of January 2009. It began rising on Christian music charts in March, and on April 17 it reached number 1 on R&R's Christian AC chart. It has remained at the top position for five consecutive weeks. It also placed at number 2 on the Christian contemporary hit radio format in April. According to Nielsen SoundScan, "The Motions" was the top downloaded Christian track starting at the last week of April. In May 2009, the song reached number 10 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which is equivalent to placing at 110 on the Hot 100.

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