What is a Spiritual Practice?
A spiritual practice is any regular and intentional activity of exerting effort as we allow transformation in ourselves, cultivating openness and responsiveness to God and others.
Breaking Down the Elements of Spiritual Practice:
Any: Any rhythm that calls our intention and attention to what it is that we seek may be or become a spiritual practice. The rhythm of becoming deep is an exercise on the journey toward the place within us; a place where the true self and the Divine meet.[1] It is a sacred path and a never-ending pilgrimage; a place where we listen deeply to our Inner Light[2] in order to live and is not something to be mastered.
Regular: To learn how to practice, we need two things: a time and a place. Choose a time and schedule it.[3] As with any activity, we become better at it when we practice.
Intentional: A spiritual practice built into life with an intended purpose. Richard Foster writes in Celebration of Discipline, “The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths. They invite us to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm. They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world. John Woolman counsels, ‘It is good for thee to dwell deep, that thou mayest feel and understand the spirits of people.’” [4]
Transformation: as we bring the whole self before God, in our relationship closeness with God deepens.
Common Practices
The traditional spiritual practices include three primary divisions: study, spirituality, and service. Add any activity that helps grows a relationship to Jesus; for instance, MaryKate’s practice of tidying.[5]
Make space to focus on and connect with God.
[1] Griffin, Emilie. Wonderful and Dark is this Road: Discovering the Mystic Path. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2004.
[2] the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
[3] Ortberg, John. The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002, 151
[4] Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. New York: HarperCollins, 1978, 76
[5] Morse, MaryKate. "A Surprisingly Simple Spiritual Discipline for Restoring the Soul," Missio Alliance, February 27, 2019, Retrieved from: https://www.missioalliance.org/a-surprisingly-simple-spiritual-discipline-for-restoring-the-soul/
[6] Kretzschmar, Louise, & Tuckey, Ethel C.. (2017). The role of relationship in moral formation: An analysis of three tertiary theological education institutions in South Africa. In die Skriflig , 51(1), 1-8. https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v51i1.2214
A spiritual practice is any regular and intentional activity of exerting effort as we allow transformation in ourselves, cultivating openness and responsiveness to God and others.
Breaking Down the Elements of Spiritual Practice:
Any: Any rhythm that calls our intention and attention to what it is that we seek may be or become a spiritual practice. The rhythm of becoming deep is an exercise on the journey toward the place within us; a place where the true self and the Divine meet.[1] It is a sacred path and a never-ending pilgrimage; a place where we listen deeply to our Inner Light[2] in order to live and is not something to be mastered.
Regular: To learn how to practice, we need two things: a time and a place. Choose a time and schedule it.[3] As with any activity, we become better at it when we practice.
Intentional: A spiritual practice built into life with an intended purpose. Richard Foster writes in Celebration of Discipline, “The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths. They invite us to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm. They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world. John Woolman counsels, ‘It is good for thee to dwell deep, that thou mayest feel and understand the spirits of people.’” [4]
Transformation: as we bring the whole self before God, in our relationship closeness with God deepens.
Common Practices
The traditional spiritual practices include three primary divisions: study, spirituality, and service. Add any activity that helps grows a relationship to Jesus; for instance, MaryKate’s practice of tidying.[5]
Make space to focus on and connect with God.
- Solitude: to be alone with one’s inner life; it is a way of letting God into our lives (Solitude is completed by silence.)
- Silence: a quiet place to still our minds and whole self, attending to God’s presence; not speaking so that we can listen. It is only in the silence that we can truly hear God’s still small voice.
- Fasting: Centering on God. It is the complete or partial denial something that controls for a long or short period of intensive prayer. While fasting daily routines continues; inwardly, we are constantly remembering that we are in God’s presence. Fasting can bring about breakthroughs that can hardly ever happen any other way.
- Meditation: creating the emotional and spiritual space which allows hearing God’s word for us and following it - meditation is communication between the Lover and the one beloved. Forms are varied: Benedictine, Ignatian, Carmelite, Franciscan…
- Prayer: is central to transformation. In conversing with God, we begin to think God’s thoughts: we desire what God desires; we love what God loves; we will what God wills. In prayer, we are collaborators with God.
- Study: Fides Quaerens Intellectum – faith seeking understanding does not mean we replace faith with understanding; this is simply an active love of God seeking a deeper knowledge of God. It is the close relationship between faith and human reason (Saint Anselm, 11th Century).
- Simplicity: is developing the freedom from our attachments. It is an inward reality that results in an outward life-style: avoid the accumulation of wealth and look after the less fortunate; seek first to bring about God’s Kingdom; buy for usefulness rather than status; reject what is or will produce an addiction; give things away; enjoy and appreciate creation; avoid anything that causes oppression of others. Be simple, not a simpleton.
- Discernment: requires an attitude of listening, attentiveness, openness, and humility as we seek for divine guidance (especially when voices within us seem to conflict) in prayer, experience or in our conversation with people.
- Pilgrimage: break in the daily routine of life to enable us to better experience the presence of the Divine and allow the Light to shine in our lives in a different way. Check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_pilgrimage
- Sabbath: one day rest (or practiced in short periods) in God’s person and provision; praying and playing with God and others.
- Secrecy: good deeds or qualities known only God, see Sermon on Mount, Chapter 6.
- Submission: a discipline of engagement by not asserting self as an authority. This laying down the burden of always trying to have our own way. Huge part Servant leadership
- Bible Reading: Scripture is our guide, wisdom, and strength for life. May be combined with other disciplines: contemplative study, Lectio Divina.)
- Personal Reflection: attention to our inner self for growth and discovery.
- Tithing, Giving…
- The Church: at a conceptual and practical level, moral formation requires the teaching, training, and encouragement that only a moral community can provide.[6]
- Worship: Praising in words, music, ritual, or silence privately or in community.
- Soul Friendship: Engaging with other spiritual practices; such as small groups, spiritual direction, and mentoring.
- Service: serving God and others with agape
- Ubuntu: (umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu); it is through others that we become fully human, often translated as "A person is a person because of people." The spirit of reciprocal living that envelops a community in healing energy.
- Stewardship: Appreciation for God’s creation and gifts.
- Hospitality: Relaxation and renewal in a pleasant and supportive environment
[1] Griffin, Emilie. Wonderful and Dark is this Road: Discovering the Mystic Path. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2004.
[2] the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
[3] Ortberg, John. The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002, 151
[4] Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. New York: HarperCollins, 1978, 76
[5] Morse, MaryKate. "A Surprisingly Simple Spiritual Discipline for Restoring the Soul," Missio Alliance, February 27, 2019, Retrieved from: https://www.missioalliance.org/a-surprisingly-simple-spiritual-discipline-for-restoring-the-soul/
[6] Kretzschmar, Louise, & Tuckey, Ethel C.. (2017). The role of relationship in moral formation: An analysis of three tertiary theological education institutions in South Africa. In die Skriflig , 51(1), 1-8. https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v51i1.2214
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