Journey into Lightl

I wrote an article a few months ago about spiritual disciplines. It has been one of the most read articles on this blog in recent months. This has encouraged me to write some more about them.

First of all, what are spiritual disciplines?

What Spiritual Disciplines Are

Spiritual disciplines are practices like doing Bible study, listening to sermons, and memorizing Scripture. Doing them does not grow us spiritually. Yet, God often uses them to grow us spiritually. He does the growing as we cooperate with him by practicing the spiritual disciplines that he leads us to do.

What Spiritual Disciplines Are Not

When I was a young Christian, I thought that having daily quiet times, going on retreats and doing Bible studies was why I was growing as a Christian. I couldn’t imagine that God would grow me unless I did the heavy lifting by practicing spiritual disciplines.

So, I was somewhat sympathetic towards some people who criticized me last year for teaching “works righteousness” when I advocated practicing spiritual disciplines. Even though my first response was, “How could they think that? Of course growing spiritually is totally a work of God.” But I soon recalled my experience trying to earn spiritual growth by working hard through spiritual disciplines.

I was reminded that we could misuse Bible studies and quiet times to earn favor with God, instead of using them to receive God’s grace of spiritual growth.

God Requires Our Participation To Grow Us

However, I have come to realize that without God working no matter how many Bible studies I do, verses I memorize, or how long I pray, I will not grow. But I won’t grow to maturity if I don’t do these things either. God requires my participation.

It is like a farmer sitting on his hands and refusing to plant seeds and cultivate the land. Can he expect to harvest a crop in the fall? Of course not!

Paul says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7, NIV).

So, like the farmer, practicing spiritual disciplines is like planting and watering seeds. They are activities we do through which God performs his miracle of transformation.

Our Participation Includes Spiritual Disciplines

God says, “Pray and I will take away all your fears” (Psalm 34:4, paraphrased). The spiritual discipline is intense prayer.

“Meditate on My word and obey it and I will make you successful” (Joshua 1:8, paraphrased). The spiritual disciplines are meditation and Scripture memory.

“Invite Me to search your heart and change it with your cooperation and I will” (Psalm 139:23-24, paraphrased). The spiritual discipline is contemplative prayer.

“Be silent and I will reveal Myself to you in deeper ways” (Psalm 46:10, paraphrased). The spiritual discipline is silence.

“Follow My example while I was on earth and often spend time with the Father in undistracted devotion” (Mark 1:35, paraphrased). The spiritual discipline is a quiet time.

I know of over 60 spiritual disciplines. We can’t even begin to do them all every day. Or would we want to. Instead, may we ask him to lead us to practice the few that he will use today to make us godlier and to do his works through us (Philippians 2:13).