Life + Faith

Tag: Spiritual Disciplines

  • Exploring The Habits of The Christian Life: Reading The Bible For Application

    In recent time I’ve been exploring what modern Christianity would call the ‘spiritual disciplines’. These are the habits, the actions, the lifestyle, the regular practices, which shape spiritual formation for the self.

    As you can imagine these practices are centred around the Word and prayer. However, they also bring with them other practices that can help in our communion with God (think: fasting, solitude, silence, giving etc). And in the end that is the purpose of these practices, to help in our communion with God, leading us to enjoying Him in greater depth.

    Modern proponents of the spiritual disciplines are people like Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Richard Foster, Donald Whitney and others. But generally when reading their books they are often footnoting the divines of ages past. This week, as I’ve been reading David Mathis’ book, The Habits of Grace, one such quote from the Puritan preacher Thomas Watson caught my eye enough to highlight. He writes,

    “Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: “God means my sins;” when it presseth any duty, “God intends me in this.” Many put off scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it be applied.”

    How often do we read the Bible and seek to apply it to ourselves in a way that brings it home to ourselves? Often we can read the Bible for the sake of understanding more of the Bible, it’s history, it’s context, the people it was originally written to, but how often do we apply it to ourselves in a way that means we need to apply it?

    For those of us who have been walking with Jesus for a while, who are familiar with the Bible, and understand many of its contours we can easily skip the application of the text for us.

    As Mathis rightfully highlights following this quote, it is important to understand the Word in its context, how it relates to Jesus and the cross, before seeking to apply it to ourselves. But after reading it in this way, do we take the next step in applying it for ourselves, meditating on it to find where it may be speaking to us, insightfully helping us to see how we may need to change our thinking or actions?

  • Luther’s Evening Prayer and The Practice of Written Prayers

    Luther’s Evening Prayer and The Practice of Written Prayers

    Reading written prayers of saints of the past, or writing our own prayers for specific events or days of the week can be beneficial for our walk with Jesus and life of prayer.

    In recent years I have sensed greater communion with God, and a more helpful and deeper practice, to be reading and writing written prayers. The more I have experienced prayer in my life, and the more I have read about the life of prayer others have, the more convinced I have become about the necessity of prayers that articulate what I can’t.

    We could say this is what the Psalms are written for, articulating what we can’t. And this is true. Like the Lord’s Prayer, it is helpful to be trained or train ourselves in praying these written prayers of the Bible. It’s also helpful to have others speak words to God that we want to speak but can’t conjure up ourselves.

    Recently, I came across Martin Luther’s evening prayer, written in his Small Catechism (circa 1529). I found it a prayer that encourages rest and solid sleep, recognising God’s hand and trusting his oversight and care in our lives.

    “I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray You to forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”

    Sleep well.