Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual disciplines? What are those?

A good question for anyone in the Christian faith and life. Many people, when they take a moment to think of spiritual disciples, think of things like prayer, bible reading or study, and going to church. While those are good spiritual disciplines, those are not the only ones out there. Far from it! In seminary one of my professors gave me a book which outlines 62 different spiritual disciplines: their practices, their functions, and their strengths and weaknesses. Sixty two different practices! That is a lot of different ways to connect to God!

"Spiritual practices don't give us "spiritual brownie points" or help us "work the system" for a passing grade from God. They simply put us in a place where we can begin to notice God and respond to his word to us." (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook p. 19) Spiritual practices help us connect our desire for God in our lives with the work that God is doing in our lives. While there are lots of books out there which outline different practices, ways of connecting to God are not limited to 62 or 100 or even 1000. There are thousands of ways in which we can connect to God in our daily lives. However, throughout the summer, I will be talking about some spiritual practices to try out. Maybe you do some of these things already, perhaps you've never thought of them as spiritual disciplines, maybe they will all be new to you. See what fits your life and desire for God in your life.