Spiritual disciplines are habits or practices that allow us
to dive deeper into our relationship with Jesus. They provide a context for our lives in which
we can hear God speak and see his hand at work.
They help us get ready to obey.
They help us know him personally and intimately.
Adam and Eve spoke directly with God, beginning the practice
of prayer. Their children Cain and Able may
have begun the practice of giving to God through sacrifice. Abraham continues the tradition of giving to
God as he offers a tenth (tithe) of his spoils of war to Melchizedek, the king
of Salem and priest of the Most High God.
Later we find followers of God fasting, worshipping,
meditating, fellowshipping, remembering, confessing, resting, reflecting,
serving, studying. Today we have the Old
and New Testaments, a rich collection of documents about God’s interaction with
man.
In Acts 2 we find the early church beginning a new kind of community. They devoted themselves to:
- The apostles’ teaching
- The fellowship
- The breaking of the bread
- Prayer
In these four elements, we find the foundation for Christian
spiritual disciplines. The apostles’
teaching is captured in the New Testament, with the Old Testament as its
foundation. So many spiritual
disciplines are founded on the scriptures including reading, memorizing, and meditating.
The fellowship is the collection of believers, the
church. Disciplines with the fellowship
include service, giving and evangelism.
The breaking of the bread is a reference to the celebration
of the Lord’s Supper. By extension,
then, we find the spiritual discipline of corporate worship, including
celebration, confession, baptism, and remembering.
Prayer is the oldest spiritual discipline, and the early Christians
were devoted to it. Their prayer included
fasting, confession, simplicity and solitude.
These habits are a means for us to know God and love God. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is
to love God. Paul said that compared to
knowing God, everything else is just garbage.
