Discover Your Soul's Path to GodSample

An ascetic Christian is one who feels closest to God when they are alone with him, free from distractions. Our culture has a difficult time understanding the ascetic temperament. It’s ironic that in a culture where loneliness and feelings of isolation are almost pandemic, solitude is so foreign to us. Most of our solitude is forced, not chosen, creating loneliness rather than spiritual intimacy with the Father.

John the Baptist immediately comes to mind when we think of the solitary and the ascetic, but Jesus also had these tendencies. Jesus frequently sought solitude (see Mark 1:35). Before his greatest test, Jesus found comfort in the dark, in the garden of Gethsemane, kneeling quietly and privately in prayer (see Matthew 26:36). It is in these dark, intense, and lonely times that ascetics’ souls awaken. Jesus, alone and in agony, as he prayed in Gethsemane is the ultimate picture of Christianity—the picture of us struggling spiritually as God aligns our will with his. 

There is a time and a place for  the role of austerity and solitude in every Christian’s worship. Solitude can bring a quietness and depth that nourishes rather than depletes. During those moments colors can regain their brightness, truth can regain its clarity, and reality can lose its fog. Times of solitude can be like an anchor for our souls. Spending time apart can be essential for a deepening walk with God. It can be difficult to find solitude in our busy world, but it is important to set aside time to be apart. Just the act of getting away can serve as a call or prelude to worship. Solitude is a tool when we use it to recharge; we then need to return to our responsibility toward others so we are be able to reach those who most need our message.

Ascetic Christians are often distracted by their senses, so they will try to shut them out. Prayer and fasting are common tools that help the ascetic focus on God and enter into worship. A strict faith can seem perilously close to legalism—and in some cases, it can be. For healthy ascetics, however, strictness is a cherished method of expressing love for God. And somewhat surprisingly, this strictness with self is marked by gentleness toward others.

The ascetic temperament can have a productive and growing relationship with God. Practices that help the ascetic temperament seek God include quiet worship in the night, adopting periods of stillness and silence, fasting, obedience to the authority of another while keeping obedience to God’s will first, work as an affirmation that the God who created us sustains us, time apart, living simply, and enduring hardship.

In all of these practices, our need for spiritual refreshment must be balanced with our obligation to reach out to others. Asceticism is a means to an end, not our destination. We don’t win God’s favor by what we do. Such attempts are futile (see Isaiah 64:6). We walk, live, and worship by faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ. The ascetic sees the importance of separation from the world in seeking God and recognizes that a life of the spirit is a holy invitation to boldly follow Jesus. Ascetic practices keep us on the right track. They help us to move farther down the trail, regardless of what our main temperament may be.

Respond

What distractions keep you from focusing on your relationship with God and from worshiping him in meaningful ways?

How well to you handle solitude and quiet time in prayer?

In what ways can adding ascetic practices to your life help you stay on track in seeking to follow Jesus?