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This is the first article in a series that will offer practical guidance for growing in our Christian faith and life.  These articles will be gathered together in a forthcoming "reSource" section of this website.

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES are those habits Christ followers intentionally nurture that draw us deeper into the presence of God and closer to the heart of God.  Spiritual disciplines are not rules to be obeyed.  Following them will not inspire God to love us more.  They are opportunities for deeper intimacy with the Creator and Ruler of the Universe whose greatest passion is to lavish his love upon us.

Any habit inspired by the Holy Spirit that draws us into a deeper relationship with God whom we know through Jesus Christ can be considered a holy discipline.  Here are a few examples of the more common disciplines along with some suggested patterns and resources.


PRAYER

The simplest and most profound spiritual discipline is intentional prayer.  Jesus himself gave us instructions on how to pray (Matthew 6:5-14) along with a pattern of prayer Christ followers have been using ever since.  There are many good English translations of the Lord’s Prayer.  This one from the International Consultation on English Texts is simple and clear:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever.  Amen.   

A simple way to deepen your experience of prayer is to pray in the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer:

• Begin by spending time simply adoring God.  Don’t rush into the list of concerns and requests that are on your heart.  First spend time reminding yourself of God’s power, God’s beauty, God’s glory, God’s holiness, God’s strength, God’s compassion, God’s amazing attributes.  We cannot pray as we should until we begin to train our hearts to desire God simply because He is God—and not because of what He might be willing to do for us.

• Next, pray that God’s will, not your wish list, be accomplished.  The most famous example of this form of surrender to God’s will is in Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane.  We are seeking God’s heart, not trying to set God’s agenda, must begin to be ours before we can offer our prayers with appropriate trust.

• Now pray extravagantly, telling God the joys and concerns on your heart.  Many contemporary Christ followers pray with the same degree of passion with which we read the instruction book that came with our DVD player.

• Confess the ways in which you have fallen short of the glory God intended for you, and ask God’s grace and forgiveness so that you can graciously forgive the failings and shortfalls of others.  And remember that the source of all evil is the Evil One himself—the Tempter.  Pray for strength to confront the temptations you face each day.

• Close your time of prayer with praise—God’s power, glory, and kingdom are eternal and complete.  Give thanks to God that nothing you will face is beyond God’s plan or provision, and that God has claimed victory in all things through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Regularize your prayer life:

• Some people find their most effective pattern of prayer is to identify a specific time and place set apart for prayer.

• Other people follow a set pattern of prayer at various times throughout the day; morning, midday, end of the work day, before going to bed.

• For others, time in prayer is more like text messaging God—maintaining a running dialogue that is woven through the events and conversations of the day.

SCRIPTURE READING


Daily Lectionary

Scripture readings from the Daily Lectionary (one suggested pattern of readings) can be found on our home page, www.pfrenewal.org.  Scripture for each day is offered in three “tracks” drawn from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Gospels, with psalms suggested for morning and for evening. 

The lectionary readings can be used in a number of different ways:

• Select one “track” to follow for a period of time.  As an example, follow the New Testament readings for a month, then the Old Testament or the Gospels.  Or, switch to a different “track” when the readings from one of the biblical books are completed.  You can effectively use one Scripture passage a day in different ways.
  
  
  • Read Scripture at one specific time of the day set apart for spiritual focus; OR
  
  
  • Read the same Scripture at the beginning and the end of each day, allowing the Holy Spirit to use the events of the day to deepen its meaning; OR
  
  
  • Keep the passage of Scripture in front of you so you can reflect on it several times throughout the course of the day.
  
  
• Select different “tracks” for different times of the day.  As an example, read the Old Testament passage in the morning, the New Testament passage in the middle of the day, and the Gospel before going to bed.


• The psalms are selected and identified for use in the morning and in the evening.

Any pattern for Scripture reading is only a guide.  Allow the Holy Spirit to slow you down or move you ahead, to read verses the lectionary suggests skipping, or to re-read entire lessons repeatedly.  There is no right or wrong way to read God’s Word!

 

Spiritual Reading (Lectio Divina)

Spiritual reading of Scripture is a centuries’ old tradition among Christ followers.  It is a way of praying with and through Scripture—a pattern of study, meditation, listening, and prayer.  Some have likened spiritual reading of Scripture to “feasting” on God’s Word:

• “Take a bite” of the Word = read and re-read a passage of Scripture.  Read it slowly, carefully, and repeatedly.


• “Chew” on the Word = allow yourself to be drawn to a particular word or phrase in the passage.  Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and mind, enabling you to grasp what God is saying.


• “Savor” the Word = give yourself the opportunity to meditate on God’s Word, opening your heart to God in conversational prayer.  Martin Luther, among others, suggested three questions that can be asked of any passage of Scripture in order to prompt deeper meditation:
  
  
  • What new truth about God does this passage reveal to me?
  
  
  • What sin must I acknowledge and confess in light of this passage?
  
  
  • How am I called to live in response to this passage?
  
  

“Digest” the Word = don’t move on until you have given thanks to God for the blessing of encountering Him in His living Word.

 

Complete Reading (Lectio Continua)

A complete or continuous reading of Scripture can be one of the simplest systems for Bible reading,  Attention can be focused on reading an entire book at one time, or reading straight through the Bible, cover to cover.  Deep commitment and maturity is required from contemporary readers who can be easily distracted as we encounter the more detailed passages or as we are tempted to skip from one familiar section of Scripture to another. 

An alternative form of continuous reading draws significant portions of Scripture together into a system, like the Daily Lectionary, but without omitting or skipping passages.  There are many good “systems” for organizing a continuous reading lectionary.  One of these was organized by Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a Scottish preacher from the Nineteenth Century.

For many people, continuous reading of the Bible defines a pattern in their life.  God’s Word is read in its entirety, and when you conclude Revelation you begin again at Genesis.

 

Weekly Cycles of Reading(s)

Christ followers can also experience deep spiritual growth from reading a passage of Scripture repeatedly throughout the course of a week.  For some, this might be one of the lectionary readings for Sunday, also listed on www.pfrenewal.org.   Other possibilities could be a published sermon text, either read the week before the sermon in preparation for hearing the text proclaimed, or re-read in the week following the sermon to more deeply consider both God’s Word and the interpretation offered from the pulpit.

Another possibility for weekly reflection is the “lectionary” contained in PFR’s new web-chat that will be launched on Reformation Sunday, October 26, 2008.  Watch the home page at www.pfrenewal.org for more details on the cycle of suggested readings and how to join in the chat with others across the denomination and around the world.


Emmersion in a Portion of Scripture

For deep personal devotion and growth, total emersion in a portion of Scripture is effective.  Examples might include reading through the 150 psalms once a week for several weeks, or reading through one of the shorter books (e.g.: Philippians, Colossians, or some of the Minor Prophets) once a day for a month or a season of the Church Year.

 

Suggestions for Meaningful Scripture Reading

Whatever method or pattern of reading you choose, here are some helpful tips for deeper personal interaction with God’s Word:

• FOCUS = Clear your mind of as many competing thoughts as possible.  Focus your mind and heart on God, revealed in His Word, as though you were about to spend time in the presence of someone who loved you more than anything else in all creation.  You are!

• ANTICIPATE = Come into the time with Scripture with full anticipation that God is going to astonish you, challenge you, comfort you, change you in some significant way.  Pray for the illuminating power and presence of God’s Spirit before you start to read.  God’s Word is alive!  You will not come away from it the same.

• INVEST = Read God’s Word aloud.  Sing the psalms—with or without any printed music—make up your own tunes!  Invest yourself in Scripture in ways that move it beyond casual, technical, or professional reading.  Allow yourself to be lost in the beauty of God’s Word, confronted by the truth of God’s Word, amazed by the power of God’s Word, and confounded by the mystery of God’s Word.

• TRUST GOD = Read with special attention the passages of Scripture that most confuse, trouble, or offend you.  These are the places where you are encountering God beyond your experience and expectation.  Trust God’s love and watch for new insights!

• HONOR = make your commitment to spending intentional time with God in His Word a priority around which you schedule the events of your day

DAILY WORSHIP

Alone or with others, patterns of daily worship can be ways of shaping time with God.  Christian worship happens in s myriad of different forms and patterns.  Patterns for daily prayer may be found in the Book of Common Worship: Daily Prayer, PC(USA); the Worship Sourcebook, CRC; or prayer books from the Lutheran, Anglican, or United Methodist traditions, to name only a few.

No prayer book is necessary to enjoy daily worship.  Simply use the Bible.  Here are a few simple outlines for worship designed for different times of the day.


Morning Prayer

• Psalm 95:1-7a
• Opening prayer  (praising God and thanking Him for being part of the new day)
• Morning hymn or psalm  (sing a hymn to a familiar tune, or simply enjoy the reading of a hymn’s text, OR read or sing the appointed psalm for the morning)
• Scripture reading(s)  (calm your heart to hear God’s voice, then read God’s Word aloud)
• Silent meditation  (allow God’s Word time and space to speak to you)
• Prayers  (thanking God for His love and interceding for the concerns on your heart)
• The Lord’s Prayer
• The Peace  (If you are worshiping with others, share the peace of Christ)

Midday Prayer

• Scripture  (recall a verse of Scripture that means something special to you)
• Psalm  (appropriate psalms might include 1; 8; 19:1-7; 63; 67; 100; 121-130; 148; 150
• Scripture Reading  (e.g.: from the New Testament track of the daily lectionary)
• Prayers  (thanking God for His provision and guidance through the first half of the day and including things that are of special concern)
• The Lord’s Prayer
• The Peace  (If you are worshiping with others, share the peace of Christ)

Evening Prayer (offered, if possible, at the close of the work day)

• Psalm 141
• Opening prayer  (praising God and thanking Him for His presence and grace throughout this  day)
• Evening hymn or psalm  (sing a hymn to a familiar tune, or simply enjoy the reading of a hymn’s text, OR read or sing the appointed psalm for the evening)
• Scripture reading(s)  (calm your heart to hear God’s voice, then read God’s Word aloud)
• Silent meditation  (allow God’s Word time and space to speak to you)
• Prayers  (thanking God for His love and interceding for the concerns on your heart)
• The Lord’s Prayer
• The Peace  (If you are worshiping with others, share the peace of Christ)

Night Prayer

• Scripture  (recall a verse of Scripture that means something special to you or revisit a verse of Scripture from your reading(s) in the day)
• Prayer of Confession  (speak honestly with God about ways you have fallen short of His glory throughout the day)
• Psalm of Assurance  (e.g.: 23; 33:1-12; 34:1-10; 91; 121; 139)
• Scripture Reading  (can be from the lectionary or a simple reading of comfort. e.g.: Matthew 6:31-34; I John 4:18-20; John 14:27; Romans 8:38-39; Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
• Prayers  (thanking God for His provision and guidance through the day, releasing to Him all that you have done and left undone, and praising Him for his presence, protection, and peace throughout the night)
• The Lord’s Prayer
• Simeon’s Song (Luke 2:29-32)

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH GOD!