Spiritual Disciplines

Often times we think spiritual disciplines are reserved for only the pious among us. Typically they are relegated to what are called internal disciplines; such as study of Scripture, prayer, and meditation. Clearly these should be practiced, but I want to suggest something...that these exercises in no way exhaust or complete the necessary spiritual disciplines. Uh oh...here comes the list of rules we have to follow, right? Hold on a sec.

Spiritual disciplines are not about rules to follow or something that religious folks should be shoving down the throats of people, projecting them as some type of fence around the relationship that exists between God and God's people. Instead, we must understand spiritual disciplines for what they are; practices which train us to live as people of the good news. Just like an athlete trains for an event, or an intellectual studies for a debate, or a politician practices his shouting skills :)' so too do we train to live according to the teachings of Christ.

Let me explain; the practice of fasting is often misunderstood. I even once heard it described as a brain washing technique used by youth pastors. Fasting is essentially practicing the ability to give up food, especially for the other. We learn to give up what is ours out of love for another. So too is the practice of simplicity; we learn to live with less, so that others may have some. I am reminded of the passage in which Paul talks about restraining personal liberties for the benefit of the other (1 Cor. 8&9) and where he instructs the Corinthians to examine their motives and desires when they participate in the common meal.

Also, we can understand prayer as more than just a petition to God, as if he was some sort of cosmic Santa. Often we spend our time trying to figure out the right words to cajole God into performing some act or miracle in our lives. Certainly there are Biblical calls to petition God, all of which assume appropriate motivation, but what if we were to understand prayer as a way to shape us? Lukas and I say the Lord's Prayer every night. Now the Lord's Prayer is something that shapes us. Think of the words, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done... They reorient our hearts toward a life centered on trust in God. This is a critical piece that we often miss in our training.

Well, I could go on and on but let me end with this: spiritual disciplines are like exercises training us for Kingdom living. They include those internal disciplines but also others like simplicity, submission, service, confession, celebration, feasting, and fasting. May God shape us to be the people we were created to be through Christ our Lord.