Training for Spiritual Growth

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Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. – I Corinthians 9:25

Somehow, I made it to 66 without ever having done any kind of formal exercise program. So when a friend convinced me to join the gym she used, everything about the experience was foreign. I recognized kettlebells from TV, but I’d never seen the foam cylinders people were rolling on after exercising. In class, the trainer would call “Squat to toe” and I’d crouch awkwardly on creaky knees, then stumble forward when I tried to rise. She’d say, “Use your glutes to support you” and I’d add “glutes” to my list of words to learn.

Getting started in any of the spiritual disciplines is very similar. The practices themselves require unfamiliar activities, and they’re often described in unfamiliar words. Plus there are so many of them! How do you choose? Where do you start? Most lists include at least a dozen disciplines. Seminary professor Adele Ahlberg Calhoun breaks these out into 75 different practices.

Calhoun, like my fitness instructor, knows that different exercises meet different needs. At the gym, my fitness instructor knows that certain exercises improve balance, others strengthen the core, others will help with standing from a seated position. None of them is valuable for its own sake; all are intended to help people achieve specific health goals. Many of those goals are things a newbie like me wouldn’t even know to value. What is my core and why does it matter? I don’t know, but she says it will make a difference to me. So I do what my fitness instructor says.

Likewise with the spiritual disciplines. You do them to improve your spiritual health. The overall purpose is to grow closer to God and grow in Christ-likeness. Specific disciplines strengthen us in specific areas of spiritual weakness. Some disciplines are familiar to anyone who goes to church. You worship together. You practice some form of personal prayer. You make gifts of time and treasure for God’s sake.

But do you know that serving others is a spiritual discipline? Living simply? What about silence? Some enjoy practicing silence in the calming and encompassing quiet of a trail walk with no earbuds. But in my life recently, silence as a discipline has also involved not responding to false accusations and not spouting off needlessly. The discipline of silence can become a training ground in listening for God and also in trusting God to take care of us when we’d rather take care of things ourselves.

Finding the right spiritual disciplines for your life right now starts with prayer. It requires the openness to try something new that might be challenging. It can get a helpful start from a more experienced spiritual mentor.

My balance and my core strength are better now than they were nine months ago. So is my spiritual strength and balance. May you likewise find new spiritual strength through new spiritual disciplines.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What are some spiritual disciplines you are not currently practicing that you can incorporate into your daily life?

2. How often do you pray that God would guide you into better spiritual disciplines? If you don’t, why not?