What is spiritual discipline
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Hello @Yackson, Welcome to the community! I hope others here will also share from their own lived experience of practicing spiritual disciplines. As we wait for more responses, I’m glad to share some thoughts from what I have learned and experienced. I share as a fellow Christian who is also on a journey and hope it helps.
In the Bible, Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, tells us in Matthew 22:37 that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. But how do we get there? In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life , Donald Whitney writes:
“Although God will grant Christlikeness to us when Jesus returns, until then he intends for us to grow toward it. We aren’t merely to wait for holiness, we are to pursue it.”
This is also reflected in 1 Timothy 4:7, where Paul encourages Timothy to “train yourself for godliness.”
The word train is the Gk verb gumnazō, from which we get gymnasium. It requires discipline, hard work, and sacrifice. (CSB Study Bible note). So I understand this to mean that godliness is something we intentionally pursue with diligence. Spiritual disciplines, then, may be seen as intentional practices that help orient our lives toward this ultimate goal of loving God with our whole being and growing in Christlikeness. They are not an end in themselves, but practices that can help us cooperate with God’s work of sanctification in our lives. (Phil 2:12-13)
I appreciate how the process of sanctification is described in 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV:
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
This reminds me that, while spiritual disciplines are important, our transformation ultimately comes from the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit. There isn’t a technique or formula to grow closer to Christ. The disciplines are not a substitute for a genuine relationship with Christ.
I was also encouraged by something @Carson shares in Together, where he quotes Brother Lawrence on practicing awareness of God’s presence:
“One doesn’t need any special knowledge or skills to find God. All that’s required is a heart that’s fully dedicated to God, to do everything for His sake, and to love only Him.” — The Practice of the Presence of God, Third Conversation
That has helped me see that spiritual discipline is ultimately about a heart that desires to submit to God.
When considering different spiritual disciplines, I personally find it helpful to stay within the guardrails of Scripture and to learn from teachers who emphasize that foundation so that we dont drift away from biblical understanding of faith.
Scripture seems to give us both corporate and personal practices that complement one another.
For example, Acts 2:42 ESV says:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
These practices of teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer were central to the life of the early church. The breaking of bread likely included both fellowship meals and participation in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17–34).
We also see many personal practices throughout Scripture, including prayer (Matthew 6:6), fasting (Matthew 6:16), self-denial (Luke 9:23–25), generosity (Luke 6:38), confession (James 5:16), thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and making disciples (Matthew 28:19), among others.
From my own experience, I have come to appreciate how important intentional spiritual discipline is in our relationship with God. Just as no relationship grows without investing time and attention in it, it’s the same when it comes to our relationship with God.
At the same time, spiritual growth doesn’t always happen just because of our discipline. There have been seasons when suffering and difficult circumstances have exposed how much I needed to grow in understanding of Scripture and of God’s love and faithfulness, and the Lord used those circumstances to drive me back to His Word and prayer.
So, for me, spiritual disciplines are mainly about intentionally making room in my life to know God, His Word, His will and heart for us to become more like Christ, while remembering that its His Spirit who transforms us.
I hope some of these thoughts are helpful. And I would certainly welcome the perspectives of others here as well. If you have any follow-up questions, please feel free to ask.
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