The Importance of Spiritual Disciplines

As I have mentioned, I recently read Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline which discusses the practice of twelve specific disciplines which act as window to God. They are designed to place us in a position before God so that, if He choose, He may use us.

My first inclination upon beginning the book was similar to John Ortberg's, "I already feel guilty about not reading the Bible and praying enough; the last thing in the world I want is ten other things to feel guilty about not doing (Ortberg, The Life You Always Wanted, 45). Yet Ortberg goes on to explain much of what I also discovered through out my journey with the disciplines.

1. The spiritual disciplines are not a barometer to measure our spiritual lives. The only true indicator of our spiritual well-being, as Ortberg puts it is to grow "in the ability to love God and people" (ibid, 45). In fact, it is possible to devote our lives to practicing these disciplines yet miss God completely.

2. The spiritual disciplines are not always unpleasant. We tend to believe that any discipline is going to be a tedious task; however, it really depends on what we are training for. If we are training ourselves to learn how to show "joy, peace, or affection, we should assume that some of the practices are going to be downright enjoyable (ibid, 46).

3. The spiritual disciplines are not about trying to be good enough to earn favor with God. We do not get extra credit for practicing them. "Spiritual disciplines are simply a means of appropriating or growing toward the life that God graciously offers (ibid, 46).

Jesus came to bring us life, an abundant life. It is a gift that we receive from God not one that we earn. We can do nothing to obtain it. Yet I have discovered that it is exceedingly difficult for me to live as Jesus lived. I have spent most of my life trying to be more patient, trying to be more loving, trying to be more gracious; and the more I try the worse I seem to fail. Ortberg points out that, "There is a immense difference between training to do something and trying to do something . . . Spiritual transformation is not a mater of trying harder, but of training wisely (ibid, 43).

Paul told Timothy to "train yourself in godliness" (1 Tim 4:7). He elaborates further on this thought in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training." It was no surprise for people in Paul's day to hear him say this. They would have been well aware of the Olympic games, and the ways in which athletes train for these games. As Dallas Willard puts it this way:

It is impossible in the thoughts climate of today's Western world to appreciate just how utterly unnecessary it was for Paul to say explicitly, in the world in which he lived, that Christians should fast, be alone, study, give, and so forth as regular disciplines for the spiritual life. We of course tend to think of ascetic practices as oddities of human history . . .But such thinking is far from the truth.. . .Thoughtful and religiously devout people of the classical and Hellenistic world . . . Knew that the mind and body of the human being had to be rigorously disciplined to achieve a decent individual and social existence (Willard, Spirit of the Disciplines, 99).

The spiritual transformation that Jesus brings us through His indwelling Spirit is a gift of God. We are like a sail boat. We can hoist our sails, trim the line, and position ourselves for sailing; but we can't make the wind blow. Only God can do that. Spiritual disciplines are activities which we can engage in that create opportunities for God to work. What happens then is up to God, we can only prepare ourselves by getting in the right position.

As we study the spiritual disciplines, I hope that you understand that these are practices to "train" ourselves in godliness. They do not make us holier. We are either holy or not holy based on our decision to accept and follow Christ as our savior. These are simply a proved means to draw near to God.