Spiritual Disciplines
I’ve got a set of poster-sized frames hanging on a wall in my house. One says, “breathe in,” and the other, “breathe out.” I found the posters on Etsy a few years ago and was determined to find a place they’d fit. In a life that seems to be increasingly busy, I guess I hoped some words on a wall might help remind me to slow down and quickly get some perspective as I go about my day.
There are other things in our lives that sometimes help us to slow down and gain perspective; to stop and notice as we breathe in and out. Things like going for a walk outside, laughing with friends and taking a vacation with family.
Spiritual disciplines can help us to slow down too. If you’ve been around the Christian faith for even a short amount of time, you may have heard the phrase “spiritual disciplines.” Spiritual disciplines are biblically-outlined practices meant to grow us from the inside out so that we would experience more of the sweet presence of God and powerful truth of who He is, as we reflect Him to the world. Some of the key practices are:
- Prayer | 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
- Worship | Psalm 63:3-4
- Meditating on God and His word | Joshua 1:8
- Fasting/Consecration | Luke 4:2-4
- Fellowship/Community | John 17:21-23
- Confession of sin | James 5:16
- Self-examination | Matthew 7:3-5
- Rest | Matthew 11:28-30
- Giving | Luke 6:38
- Gratitude | Colossians 3:17
When considering the practice of spiritual disciplines, especially when life feels busy, it can seem like God just wants to add more to our plate. Why? Because He knows something we’ll never fully understand on this side of life: spiritual disciplines aren’t just a means to an end, they’re the path toward Jesus, who is the very sustainer of our breath. We need Jesus like we need to breathe, and these disciplines are the spiritual equivalent of taking a big gulp of the freshest air we could imagine.
However, actual breathing is automatic; we don’t have to think about it at all. But spiritual breath, if you will, takes work. And we can trust that the work is worth the effort, that God doesn’t just want to add more to our plate. Instead, He wants to add the best things to our plate because He wants more for us.
As we draw near to Him regularly, He gives us wisdom to choose the best things and strength to lay down the lesser things that we may experience more of His presence in our lives.
But if spiritual disciplines are so important, why are they so difficult to practice? If you think much about it, it seems like all the most important things in life require effort. You don’t just happen your way into a healthy marriage, a healthy body or a fulfilling career. No, the best things in life require effort, commitment and sacrifice.
My husband is a musician who’s played the bass guitar since middle school. When he’s on stage playing, you can just tell that he is having the time of his life. It’s the best. He’s played bass for over 20 years, and it’s never gotten old for him. If anything, he’s enjoying playing now more than ever because he knows it so well, and he only knows it so well after years and years of practice. All the years he’s spent practicing are what make playing that much sweeter today, though his love of the instrument continues to drive him to practice and keep growing. I think that’s kind of how spiritual disciplines are too. They’re meant to be practiced. Over time they only stir our hearts for more, and they provide us the opportunity to experience something much sweeter than we could ever manufacture, the awareness of the very presence of God. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain from incorporating spiritual disciplines into our lives.
Proverbs 4:23 says to “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8 tells us, “train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” If you’re anything like me, then yeah, sometimes I’m not feeling it. But in the highs and the lows, I hold onto scriptures like Proverbs 4:23 and 1 Timothy 4:7-8, and do my best to keep at it.
Words on a wall in my house remind me to slow down and breathe. Ultimately though, that’s not the truest experience of life; only Jesus–through spiritual disciplines welcoming His presence, His word, His rest and more, can give any of us what we truly need.
