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As we near the end of the first month of 2024, probably many people reading this blog have let go of their New Year’s resolution. According to Google, 43% forsake their resolutions by the end of January, and only nine percent will actually stick with that resolution throughout the year. It seems as though we are pretty gung ho to start the year off right, but we quickly get off track as the year progresses and those great resolutions go by the wayside.
Why is that? Why can’t we stick to what we say? Well, at least some part has to be that those resolutions just sound nice. They’re really good when you head back to work and someone asks what your New Year’s resolution is and you have an answer. The problem is many times there is no real commitment past those nice words, and without a real commitment, there is no discipline.
For us to stick to something, we have to have those: commitment and discipline. If we don’t, well, whatever we want to call it – resolution, goal, practice, or any other name – will eventually fall off. That is why I am writing this blog. I think our first and foremost commitment must be to God, and the only way to keep that commitment at the forefront of our lives is through spiritual discipline.
Spiritual discipline is an interesting topic, as those words are never used in the Bible. However, they are talked about without those specific words all the time throughout scripture. Of course, without a list in the Bible, it is hard to know which disciplines are most important as there are many that could enter into the conversation. In fact, in Adele Calhoun’s book, The Spiritual Discipline Handbook, she lays out 60 different faith practices that can fall under the title of spiritual disciplines.
That is a lot. So as I took a look at all of the different spiritual disciplines, three seemed to jump out to me over and over again. I am no prophet or saint, but I think if I can commit to these top three spiritual disciplines, my life is going to see more benefit than if I go to the gym three times a week. Those three are prayer, scripture engagement, and community.
Prayer
I’ve read a lot of books, listened to a lot of podcasts, worked with youth, talked to family and friends, and it seems to me that the toughest thing for Christians to do is pray. Some of you just read this and are thinking I’m crazy. However, in the visual world we live in, talking to someone who you can’t see, well, that presents a problem for many. Plus, even those who don’t have a problem with that particular thing often never get past the declaration types of prayer (heal this, give me this), or feel they have the time to spend.
Prayer is an avenue in which Christ invites us in to have a relationship with Him. The Creator of the universe doesn’t need you to pray, He wants you to pray. He wants you to take every part of your day and tell Him about it. He wants you give Him thanks, laugh with Him, cry to Him, and yes, even get mad at Him. God knows every emotion you are feeling, heck, even before you do. He wants to share in those emotions and be there to help get you through the tough times, celebrate the good things with you, or give you a tough answer you may not want, because simply put, He knows what’s best.
I know I am making it sound so simple, and on God’s part, it is. We muck it up by all of the other things we let get in the way of praying in general or by not allowing ourselves to truly trust in Him. One of the biggest parts of making this a spiritual discipline is committing the time it takes to pray. The only way it works is to commit a repetitive time each day that you are going to come to Him in prayer. It may not be the only time you pray in the day, but it is a firm and set time for just you and the Lord. No other distractions should be around. Do this, practice this, and see how the spiritual discipline of prayer can work in your life.
Scripture Engagement
This is another challenging spiritual discipline. What makes it so challenging is the word after scripture: engagement. Many of us read or hear scripture throughout the day. It pops up on our phones, we see it in some book we are reading, hear it in a song, hear it at church. Some of us even start our day by reading a five-minute devotional that has one or two scriptures contained within. All of those things are great, and certainly the exposure to scripture is better than what else is out there, but that is not the spiritual discipline that the Lord really wants from you.
Jeremiah 15:16 tells us, “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and a delight of my heart…” What Jeremiah is telling us is metaphorical of course, but God’s words need to be taken in, digested, not just read over and forgotten.
A Franciscan friar and top medieval theologian, Saint Bonaventure once said that we all have three sets of eyes: the eyes of the body, for physical viewing, the eyes of the mind that we use for reason, and the eyes of the heart, through which we gain spiritual insight. Whether he meant to or not, he truly wrapped up the spiritual discipline of engaging the scripture.
God certainly wants us to view scripture physically. He also wants us to view it with our mind’s eye and reason through it because it is infallible, but most of all, He wants us to truly engage scripture with those eyes of our heart. Those eyes and the closeness they can bring to our heavenly Father can make such a difference for our lives and our relationship with the Lord.
Community
Community as a spiritual discipline sounds wacky, but it really isn’t. It is basically taking the disciplines of service and fellowship and putting them together. In a community people reach out and give each other a helping hand. They grow relationships through gatherings and discussions at parties, front porches, and the mailbox. They do life together a little bit differently than the rest of the world.
This is exactly what the Lord wants us to do and it is why it is the third spiritual discipline. One of the great commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself. Well, unfortunately, as human beings we are inherently selfish. We need to practice this discipline regularly. Helping others in a variety of ways is something the Lord wants us to do and has commanded us to do through His Word.
He also never meant for us to do life alone. He has created us to be relational. Each of us has a desire to have a relationship with Him, whether we realize it or not, and we have a desire for human relationships as well. He wants us to share with Him yes, but He also wants us to share with others, help others, speak to us through others, and on and on.
God is not sitting up in Heaven with a tally sheet keeping track of how many people you help. Rather, this spiritual discipline is a true gift from Him to us. If we are living out the spiritual discipline of community, we not only bless others, we in turn are blessed. Don’t let time or the desire to veg out on the couch steal the blessing God has for you.
Those three spiritual disciplines are just a must for all of us who are trying to follow Jesus one day at a time. They aren’t always easy, and in today’s world where everything works against having those spiritual disciplines, they can appear at times to be impossible. Ask God for help. Make the commitment and don’t treat this as just another resolution. I know that I am making this a priority for 2024, so that these spiritual disciplines can become habit and not just something we talk about once a year. I hope you join me in this journey. Until next time.
Thank you son. Great words. Love you.