The anonymous writer of Hebrews understood human nature all too well: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant…” (Hebrews 12:11a). But he also understood the benefits of spiritual disciplines for the Christian life: “…later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11b).
That’s the tension we face as men of God. On one hand, we long for the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” that results from spiritual training. On the other, we’d rather skip the “painful” and difficult part.
But if we’re going to grow in our faith, if we’re going to get off the spiritual bench and jump into the game, we need to embrace the spiritual disciplines.
What are spiritual disciplines?
A quick search on the internet can yield dozens of articles related to spiritual disciplines for the Christian life. You also might find links to classic books like Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, or Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines.
With so many options and opinions, getting a handle on the nature of spiritual disciplines might feel overwhelming.
Well, here’s a relatively simple definition of a spiritual discipline: A biblical practice that nurtures the spiritual growth of a believer. Two phrases should jump out when you read that definition. The first is “biblical practice.” A spiritual discipline is something that we can see modeled in the Bible. Spiritual disciplines for the Christian life aren’t just mental exercises; they are actions we should practice regularly.
The second phrase is “spiritual growth.” In a sense, practicing spiritual disciplines can be a blessing to those around us. As Foster stated in his book, spiritual disciplines allow believers to get beyond superficial living and become the “answer to a hollow world.” But, first and foremost, the disciplines help us grow in our faith. They shape us and transform us so we can become more like Jesus.
Identifying spiritual disciplines
It can be helpful to think of spiritual disciplines in terms of categories. For example, many resources will divide them into “personal disciplines” and “corporate disciplines.” The first are actions that you practice on your own, while the second group are usually practiced within the context of your local church. The list below includes some of both, but all of them are geared toward helping you become more like Jesus, which is the ultimate goal of the spiritual disciplines and of the Christian life.
As noted, a lot of writers have provided a lot of information and insights regarding spiritual disciplines for the Christian life. That makes creating an exhaustive list next to impossible. But there are a handful of spiritual disciplines that regularly appear in articles and books on the subject. I’ve selected seven for the list below.
1. Bible study.
Many writers will divide the “Bible” category into several different disciplines; but, for simplicity, I’m lumping them all together under one main heading. Just know that Bible-based spiritual disciplines include meditating, memorizing, and studying the Scriptures. The Bible says that treasuring God’s Word protects us from sin (Psalm 119:9-11), but that doesn’t happen through casual reading. You’ve got to dig into the Bible, chew on it throughout the day, and look for ways to live it out. That’s what Bible-based disciplines are all about.
2. Prayer.
This is the flipside of Bible study. While reading the Bible allows us to hear from God, prayer allows us to speak to Him. Again, this isn’t superficial, dinnertime prayer. This is deep, honest prayer for yourself and for others. It’s not a laundry list of your wants and needs. It requires the adoration of God, the confession of sin, and intercession for those closest to you. God responds to those kinds of prayers. As James told his readers, “the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect” (James 5:16).
3. Silence.
Let’s be honest: We live in a noisy, chaotic culture. Everyone seems to travel at the speed of “now,” and what worked a day or two ago is suddenly obsolete. That’s why it’s so important to make room for silence (or solitude) in your life. I know that for many guys, the idea of being alone leaves you anxious. But this isn’t really about being alone. It’s about being still so you can focus on God. Jesus made time alone with the Father a priority (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16), so we have a solid example to follow.
4. Fasting.
Before we go any further, let me say that fasting can involve more than food. Understandably, that’s where our mind usually goes when we think about this spiritual discipline, but we don’t need to limit ourselves. God might tell you to skip some meals, but He also might tell you to skip some TV shows or some of your favorite hobbies or some screen time on your phone. The idea is to put our pleasures and desires on the back burner and trust God to fill that void. He wants us to remove distractions so we can focus on Him. You might have something that’s threatening to become an idol in your life. Fasting helps you keep it in proper perspective and reminds you that God really does supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19).
5. Stewardship.
While giving up food (or something else) might be difficult, yielding our financial resources to God may be the toughest ask yet. But biblical stewardship is a spiritual discipline we all need to nurture. The psalmist wrote that the earth and all it contains belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). That means all our money and all our material possessions belong to Him as well. So, we’re really just His stewards, His caretakers called to use what He shares with us for His glory. The Bible talks a lot about handling money, so we really shouldn’t be surprised that God calls us to practice this discipline. Your giving can take many forms, and the amount you give is between you and the Lord (2 Corinthians 9:6-8), but the Bible says too much about giving to think we can just act like it’s not a discipline God calls us to embrace.
6. Worship.
Like stewardship, worship is a spiritual discipline that touches both our personal and corporate faith. We can worship God through daily devotions (or even family devotions), but the Bible is clear that we should never forsake coming together as a body of believers (Hebrews 10:25). You should be taking your family to church rather than sending them to church. When you plug into this spiritual discipline for the Christian life, you’ll be strengthening your spiritual walk, as well as making a difference in the lives of your family members and your church.
7. Confession.
Quick question: Why did Jesus die on the cross? If you’ve been around the Christian faith for a while, you know the answer is to pay the penalty for our sins. If Jesus had not died, we could not be forgiven. So, with that in mind, why are we afraid to confess our sins to Him? The Savior who loved us enough to die in our place is not going to reject us for something we’ve done or said. He promised that He would never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). Besides, He’s God, so He knows everything about us. We’re not going to shock Him, so we might as well enjoy the freedom that comes with practicing the spiritual discipline of examining our lives honestly and confessing our sins to Him—and, when necessary, to one another (James 5:16).
This is for you
It might be tempting to assume spiritual disciplines for the Christian life are reserved for a special class of “super saints.” We might want to dismiss the disciplines as being the domain of pastors, evangelists, seminary professors, and missionaries. But go back to the definition we used earlier: “A biblical practice that nurtures the spiritual growth of a believer.”
If you’re a Christian who needs to grow in your faith, the spiritual disciplines are for you. You need to make them a part of your life so they can transform every area of your life—including your relationship with your wife and kids.
The spiritual disciplines are not an obligation or a setup for failure. They are a gift from a gracious God who wants us to know Him better.
