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Spiritual Disciplines

Think about some of the most important relationships in your life. Maybe it’s a friend, a spouse, or a relative. Did you grow and deepen your relationship with them on purpose or accidentally? 

Odds are, you had to invest time into that relationship. And it’s the same way with God. We don’t stumble into a great relationship with Him. We have to be disciplined to prioritize it. 

Now, you probably don’t view relationship-building as a discipline to keep up with, right? Otherwise, those people might not be in your close friend category. But if you think about it, relationships do require energy and time. Investing in a relationship requires discipline to yield good results. And we need to be disciplined in our relationship with God, too—it won’t happen on its own. And that’s why spiritual disciplines are so important.

The truth is, you probably won’t always feel like reading your Bible or praying or worshiping or spending time with Him. But disciplines can lead to transformed desires. 

Even Jesus—during His time on earth—had to be disciplined to pursue His relationship with His Father. Scripture tells us that He often withdrew to the wilderness to pray—meaning that He prioritized making time to be alone, to talk with His Father, and to study Scripture. 

We see the result of this kind of spiritual discipline during Jesus’ temptation in Matthew chapter four. After 40 days of fasting in the wilderness (talk about discipline!), Satan tested Jesus three different ways. Each time, Jesus overcame with the power of Scripture. 

Jesus knew that to withstand the enemy, He needed good knowledge of His Father. And by investing regular time in learning the Scriptures and how to apply them, He came out victorious when the time of testing came. 

So, how disciplined would you say you are when it comes to your spiritual life? 

Maybe you recognize that you need to make a habit of reading your Bible. Maybe you want to focus on spending time in prayer every day. Or maybe you want to connect with God in another meaningful way each day—whether through worship, gratitude, or spending time with Him outside in His creation.

We never accidentally stumble into righteousness. So today, spend time praying about some intentional ways you can develop spiritual disciplines so that you can get to know God in a deeper way. 

Challenge: What is one spiritual discipline you could start in order to grow your relationship with God? How might doing that improve your relationship?