Thoughts on spiritual practices
I’m currently leading a Formation Group[1] at our church I’m calling Practicing the Way, a title I stole from John Mark Comer’s book Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus; Become like him; Do as he did.[2]
In both his book and website, Comer does an artful, effective job collecting and organizing some of the best work on spiritual formation and spiritual practice.[3]
Spiritual formation is a treacherous subject, like a narrow path with chasms on both sides. On the one side is the danger of moralism. People engage in practices like prayer, scripture reading, sabbath, and silence as a way of making themselves feel (and look) more spiritual.
They become slaves to the practices, assuming that the more difficult the practices are to keep the more effective they become.
Remember what Jesus said about the religious leaders who prominently displayed their prayer tassels and scripture memory boxes?[4]
On the other side, however, is the danger of exhaustion. No practice seems to ever be enough. If you’re reading your Bible for five minutes per day you feel as though you should be working toward 10 or 20 or 30 minutes per day. If you can fast for a day, how about two days? You give 10% of your income but a real Christian would be trying to add a percent every year. People who begin seriously practicing “the disciplines,” as they are sometimes called, can quickly become disillusioned and give up.
The disciplines are important. Just as a grape vine needs a trellis, spirituality needs structure that enables it grow. But spiritual practices are not ends in themselves. They are a means to an end, the end of communing with God that you might live appropriately with God and others.
In Jesus’ words, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.[5] In other words, we don’t keep the sabbath for the sake of keeping the sabbath. We keep the sabbath because doing so helps us to be formed into people who love God and can consistently, instinctively love people.
You should think of all the practices this way. Whether prayer, scripture reading, fasting, or generosity, all of the practices have the singular purpose of forming us into certain types of people. Yes, there will be times when you feel like you’re obeying a command that you don’t want to obey, but you do so with the trust in God that you need to obey in order to be shaped properly. Over time, however, practicing the disciplines feels less like obedience and more like engaging in healthy habits.
And, like all healthy habits, we customize spiritual practices to our life situation, always toward the end of helping us to live as loving people. Just as it would not be wise for an elderly person with no weightlifting experience to attempt a CrossFit WOD, it would be unwise for a pregnant woman to go on a 2-day fast. Similarly, if you’ve never read the Bible before and reading in general isn’t “your thing,” building a spiritual formation plan around the practice of extensive Bible reading might not be the best idea.
If you want to mature in Christian spirituality, you need to adopt practices designed to form you in Christlikeness. The key is to evaluate your practices to ensure they are serving you toward that specific end. If they are not, change them.
Here are some tips from Comer’s book that I found helpful.
Start where you are, not where you aspire to be. Maybe you wish you could fast for an entire day. Start with one meal and see what effect that has on you.
Think subtraction, not addition. Character change is more often the result of surrendering and letting go than it is doing more things.
Have balance and wisdom. There are practices of engagement like scripture reading and prayer and there are practices of abstinence like fasting and generosity. There are also practices you do alone and practices best done with others. Find a balance between them.
Consider your personality and temperament. Becoming more fully Christian is about becoming more fully human. God created you in a unique way. Don’t work against your nature. If you’re a traditionalist, build practices that involve ritual, symbol, and liturgy. If you’re contemplative, spend lots of time in quiet solitude.
Honor your season of life. If you’re a working mother with little kids, it’s not likely you’re going to get extended time in quiet solitude. Find practices that work with your season of life.
More downstream than upstream. Some practices will feel natural to you (downstream) while others will feel difficult and uncomfortable (upstream). Don’t avoid the upstream practices altogether, but don’t major in them.
Follow the J Curve. Like any new skill, you will likely get worse before you get better. Just because a practice feels difficult at first, don’t give up. Stick with it. Over time your experience will likely improve.
Do these in community. As much as possible, share your practices with others. Just as people are typically more motivated to exercise when other people are involved, you will find more life in your spiritual practices when you share them in community.
Many people engage in spiritual practices for the wrong reasons and/or toward the wrong ends. The results are often disastrous. But if your desire is to commune with God and grow up into the kind of person who loves well, you can’t do without them. And if you practice the right ones for you, for now, and in the right ways, you’ll experience the joy of transformation.
[1] What we call small groups at Waterville Community Church
[2] John Mark Comer. Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus; Become like him; Do as he did (Colorado Springs, CO; Waterbrook, 2024).
[3] www.practicingtheway.org
[4] Matthew 23:5
[5] Mark 2:27
In both his book and website, Comer does an artful, effective job collecting and organizing some of the best work on spiritual formation and spiritual practice.[3]
Spiritual formation is a treacherous subject, like a narrow path with chasms on both sides. On the one side is the danger of moralism. People engage in practices like prayer, scripture reading, sabbath, and silence as a way of making themselves feel (and look) more spiritual.
They become slaves to the practices, assuming that the more difficult the practices are to keep the more effective they become.
Remember what Jesus said about the religious leaders who prominently displayed their prayer tassels and scripture memory boxes?[4]
On the other side, however, is the danger of exhaustion. No practice seems to ever be enough. If you’re reading your Bible for five minutes per day you feel as though you should be working toward 10 or 20 or 30 minutes per day. If you can fast for a day, how about two days? You give 10% of your income but a real Christian would be trying to add a percent every year. People who begin seriously practicing “the disciplines,” as they are sometimes called, can quickly become disillusioned and give up.
The disciplines are important. Just as a grape vine needs a trellis, spirituality needs structure that enables it grow. But spiritual practices are not ends in themselves. They are a means to an end, the end of communing with God that you might live appropriately with God and others.
In Jesus’ words, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.[5] In other words, we don’t keep the sabbath for the sake of keeping the sabbath. We keep the sabbath because doing so helps us to be formed into people who love God and can consistently, instinctively love people.
You should think of all the practices this way. Whether prayer, scripture reading, fasting, or generosity, all of the practices have the singular purpose of forming us into certain types of people. Yes, there will be times when you feel like you’re obeying a command that you don’t want to obey, but you do so with the trust in God that you need to obey in order to be shaped properly. Over time, however, practicing the disciplines feels less like obedience and more like engaging in healthy habits.
And, like all healthy habits, we customize spiritual practices to our life situation, always toward the end of helping us to live as loving people. Just as it would not be wise for an elderly person with no weightlifting experience to attempt a CrossFit WOD, it would be unwise for a pregnant woman to go on a 2-day fast. Similarly, if you’ve never read the Bible before and reading in general isn’t “your thing,” building a spiritual formation plan around the practice of extensive Bible reading might not be the best idea.
If you want to mature in Christian spirituality, you need to adopt practices designed to form you in Christlikeness. The key is to evaluate your practices to ensure they are serving you toward that specific end. If they are not, change them.
Here are some tips from Comer’s book that I found helpful.
Start where you are, not where you aspire to be. Maybe you wish you could fast for an entire day. Start with one meal and see what effect that has on you.
Think subtraction, not addition. Character change is more often the result of surrendering and letting go than it is doing more things.
Have balance and wisdom. There are practices of engagement like scripture reading and prayer and there are practices of abstinence like fasting and generosity. There are also practices you do alone and practices best done with others. Find a balance between them.
Consider your personality and temperament. Becoming more fully Christian is about becoming more fully human. God created you in a unique way. Don’t work against your nature. If you’re a traditionalist, build practices that involve ritual, symbol, and liturgy. If you’re contemplative, spend lots of time in quiet solitude.
Honor your season of life. If you’re a working mother with little kids, it’s not likely you’re going to get extended time in quiet solitude. Find practices that work with your season of life.
More downstream than upstream. Some practices will feel natural to you (downstream) while others will feel difficult and uncomfortable (upstream). Don’t avoid the upstream practices altogether, but don’t major in them.
Follow the J Curve. Like any new skill, you will likely get worse before you get better. Just because a practice feels difficult at first, don’t give up. Stick with it. Over time your experience will likely improve.
Do these in community. As much as possible, share your practices with others. Just as people are typically more motivated to exercise when other people are involved, you will find more life in your spiritual practices when you share them in community.
Many people engage in spiritual practices for the wrong reasons and/or toward the wrong ends. The results are often disastrous. But if your desire is to commune with God and grow up into the kind of person who loves well, you can’t do without them. And if you practice the right ones for you, for now, and in the right ways, you’ll experience the joy of transformation.
[1] What we call small groups at Waterville Community Church
[2] John Mark Comer. Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus; Become like him; Do as he did (Colorado Springs, CO; Waterbrook, 2024).
[3] www.practicingtheway.org
[4] Matthew 23:5
[5] Mark 2:27
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