A spiritual discipline is a biblical practice with the express purpose of strengthening your faith. Here are some spiritual disciplines you can practice in your life!
In a world that often seems upside-down, a strong, faith-filled foundation is critical; not only for our personal spiritual growth, but also to shine the light of Christ through the darkness. As Christians, we are equipped with the power of hope, a hope we can share with others if we have spiritual discipline.
A spiritual discipline is a biblical practice with the express purpose of strengthening your faith. “Spiritual fitness,” if you will. Spiritual disciplines are things that you do. Digging into God’s Word and praying are spiritual disciplines, but let’s look at some lesser known spiritual disciplines that you can practice in your life…
The first spiritual discipline to consider is simplicity. In secular culture, happiness is often equated with having. You have the best phone, the nicest car, the biggest house. But as Christians, we know that finding our life means giving it away. Simplicity is the practice of letting go and uncluttering your life, so you can live for the things that really matter – God and those around you.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
Confession is an important part of our spiritual lives. The Bible tells us that confessing our sins and acknowledging our wrongdoing is part of receiving forgiveness. But the verse above from James speaks on a practical aspect of confession – the involvement of fellow believers. We confess our sins regularly to others so they can pray for us and give us spiritual support.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
The third spiritual discipline we’ll look at is self-examination. Self-examination is about taking the time to evaluate your life and see if it matches up with what God would want. It is important for all Christians to make sure they’re living out their faith. And no, this discipline isn’t all about focusing on what you’ve done wrong – it’s also important to identify your successes as well! Self-examination is a tool for re-aligning ourselves with Christ.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
All over the Bible, we are told to be thankful. Gratitude is all about taking the time to think of all the things God has blessed you with and done for you. It isn’t just something we feel, it’s something we can practice. Depending on our circumstances, being grateful may not be the first thing we think to do. But if you choose to work on this spiritual discipline, you will find that you are able to thank God even in the most difficult times.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
How are you using the gifts God has given you for his glory? That is the heart of the final spiritual discipline we’ll be looking at: stewardship. The discipline of stewardship is all about identifying your strengths and then finding ways to use them to serve others. Each of us has skills or passions that we can use to bring glory to God and do it cheerfully!
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
Once you’ve chosen a spiritual discipline to practice, check out these three simple steps for getting started:
Your first step is to pick out a discipline you want to practice. Try to choose one that is new to you in order to build up your spiritual strength! There are many more spiritual disciplines other than the ones listed above, so do a little research on some others. Pray and ask God for guidance in making your choice – is there an area of your spiritual life that God wants you to be stronger in? Once you’ve made your choice, write it down and keep it somewhere you will see it often as a friendly reminder.
The next step is to help you work on the discipline you’ve chosen by using another spiritual discipline: fasting. Fasting is a great opportunity to prepare your soul to live out your faith, and it doesn’t have to be just giving up food. In fact, for this challenge, choose something in your life that you could fast from to make time for your new spiritual discipline. Let’s use social media as an example. Instead of spending time on social media, you could work on gratitude or self-examination. Use fasting to honor God and make time to build up your spiritual strength!
Once you have chosen your discipline and have made time for it, you can start practicing! Whatever discipline you choose, be intentional to think about how you have (or haven’t) applied that spiritual discipline during the day. Keep track of your progress so you can see how much you grow this month and beyond!
The post 5 Spiritual Disciplines to Strengthen Your Faith appeared first on Focus on the Family.
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Head
The purpose of spiritual disciplines
In a world that often seems upside-down, a strong, faith-filled foundation is critical; not only for our personal spiritual growth, but also to shine the light of Christ through the darkness. As Christians, we are equipped with the power of hope, a hope we can share with others if we have spiritual discipline.
A spiritual discipline is a biblical practice with the express purpose of strengthening your faith. “Spiritual fitness,” if you will. Spiritual disciplines are things that you do. Digging into God’s Word and praying are spiritual disciplines, but let’s look at some lesser known spiritual disciplines that you can practice in your life…
Heart
Five spiritual disciplines to think about
Simplicity
The first spiritual discipline to consider is simplicity. In secular culture, happiness is often equated with having. You have the best phone, the nicest car, the biggest house. But as Christians, we know that finding our life means giving it away. Simplicity is the practice of letting go and uncluttering your life, so you can live for the things that really matter – God and those around you.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
- What in my life right now is getting in the way of the things that are most important?
- How can I simplify my life to make more time for God?
Confession
Confession is an important part of our spiritual lives. The Bible tells us that confessing our sins and acknowledging our wrongdoing is part of receiving forgiveness. But the verse above from James speaks on a practical aspect of confession – the involvement of fellow believers. We confess our sins regularly to others so they can pray for us and give us spiritual support.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
- What could I use prayer for?
- Who could I practice the spiritual discipline of confession with?
Self-Examination
The third spiritual discipline we’ll look at is self-examination. Self-examination is about taking the time to evaluate your life and see if it matches up with what God would want. It is important for all Christians to make sure they’re living out their faith. And no, this discipline isn’t all about focusing on what you’ve done wrong – it’s also important to identify your successes as well! Self-examination is a tool for re-aligning ourselves with Christ.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
- When will I make time to regularly examine my thoughts and actions?
- What did I do well and how can I keep doing that/what didn’t I do well and how can I improve?
Gratitude
All over the Bible, we are told to be thankful. Gratitude is all about taking the time to think of all the things God has blessed you with and done for you. It isn’t just something we feel, it’s something we can practice. Depending on our circumstances, being grateful may not be the first thing we think to do. But if you choose to work on this spiritual discipline, you will find that you are able to thank God even in the most difficult times.
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
- What are some of the things God has given me that I can be thankful for?
- How can I approach each situation with an attitude of gratitude?
Stewardship
How are you using the gifts God has given you for his glory? That is the heart of the final spiritual discipline we’ll be looking at: stewardship. The discipline of stewardship is all about identifying your strengths and then finding ways to use them to serve others. Each of us has skills or passions that we can use to bring glory to God and do it cheerfully!
If you want to adopt this spiritual discipline, you can start by thinking through these questions:
- What is one strength/skill that God has given me that I can use to glorify him?
- How can I help others be good stewards of the gifts God has given them?
Hands
3 steps for adopting a spiritual discipline
Once you’ve chosen a spiritual discipline to practice, check out these three simple steps for getting started:
Step 1: Choose a spiritual discipline
Your first step is to pick out a discipline you want to practice. Try to choose one that is new to you in order to build up your spiritual strength! There are many more spiritual disciplines other than the ones listed above, so do a little research on some others. Pray and ask God for guidance in making your choice – is there an area of your spiritual life that God wants you to be stronger in? Once you’ve made your choice, write it down and keep it somewhere you will see it often as a friendly reminder.
Step 2: Make time through fasting
The next step is to help you work on the discipline you’ve chosen by using another spiritual discipline: fasting. Fasting is a great opportunity to prepare your soul to live out your faith, and it doesn’t have to be just giving up food. In fact, for this challenge, choose something in your life that you could fast from to make time for your new spiritual discipline. Let’s use social media as an example. Instead of spending time on social media, you could work on gratitude or self-examination. Use fasting to honor God and make time to build up your spiritual strength!
Step 3: Practice your discipline
Once you have chosen your discipline and have made time for it, you can start practicing! Whatever discipline you choose, be intentional to think about how you have (or haven’t) applied that spiritual discipline during the day. Keep track of your progress so you can see how much you grow this month and beyond!
The post 5 Spiritual Disciplines to Strengthen Your Faith appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...