The Principle of Urgency
Start today. Identify one spiritual discipline that you will start right now. Not tomorrow morning, not next week, but right now. Martin Luther said, "On my calendar there are but two days: today and That Day." He knew that he would be held accountable for each moment. Satan also knows through years of experience that if he can get the saints to put off obeying God's Word until after they've returned home from church, that very few of them will follow through on their commitments. Start with what you do know about that spiritual discipline. Don't fall for the lie that you have to be an expert before you begin. The best way to learn how to pray is to pray, not read a book about prayer. Richard Foster believes the most dangerous pitfall is the temptation to study the disciplines without experiencing them. Studying about the disciplines never changed anyone.
The Principle of Development
Having said that, go on to learn all you can about the disciplines. Learn what pitfalls to avoid and how to make the most of the time spent exercising yourself unto godliness. You can learn by reading about the disciplines, but by far the best way is to find mentors and models in the disciplines. From them you will not only learn some principles for practicing the disciplines, but you will catch their passion for God that arises out of their practice of the disciplines.
The Principle of Regularity
Whatever discipline you do, it will only begin to transform you if you do it regularly over a period of time. Don't expect immediate results from any discipline. Anyone intent on developing washboard abs knows that once or twice a week in the gym won't do it. Likewise, regularity is the law of spirituality. That is why David mentions delighting in the law both day and night (Psa 1:2) and praising God seven times a day (Psa 119
The Principle of Rhythm
Along with our desire to develop regular habits is the inevitability of troughs and peaks in our spiritual experience. Sometimes we will have a strong sense of God's presence; at other times we will lament because He is absent. But we need to realize two truths: First, real growth may be taking place beneath the soil even during periods that seem stagnate. Second, we all need to the balance between stretching and rest, between activity and stillness.
The Principle of Excess
For many of the disciplines of engagement, it helps to start off your efforts by setting aside more than the normal amount of time that you would devote in order to see some immediate progress and benefit. In other words, if you desire to spend 15 minutes a day reading and meditating on Scripture, then start out on a weekend by spending two or three hours reading and meditating on Scripture, just to whet your appetite.
John Piper challenges those who would like to burn with zeal for God to make some experiments with "high-dosage, extended-time, prayer-driven Bible meditation" and notes that a Korean church expects its members to read five chapters of the Bible a day and its pastors to read twenty chapters a day!
The Principle of Limitation
For many of the disciplines of abstinence, however, it is best to start small and build up. With fasting, for example, you may want to start with a one meal fast (and you may need to check with your doctor first). Remember, though, you will probably not benefit as much from the discipline until you begin to practice it in more depth.
The Principle of Delight
I have personally found my own ability to practice the disciplines impacted most by a change in attitude toward the disciplines. I have always known that I "ought" to spend time with God and have felt a compulsion to do so. Only recently have I risen in the morning because God's Word is the "joy and rejoicing of my heart" and prayer causes my "joy [to be] made complete." It makes a huge difference in the early morning to arise because you want to rather than because you feel like you have to.
The Principle of Freedom
Not every discipline appeals to everyone. Our personalities, schedules, and the seasons of our lives will, in large measure, determine which spiritual disciplines we practice. Don't envy what God has given to another. Richard Foster identifies the temptation to turn the disciplines into laws as the first pitfall people often fall into. He says, "The disciplined person can do what needs to be done when it needs to be done." Don't envy what other people are doing, but find the discipline that is right for you to work on the areas of spiritual formation you need to develop.
Another application of this principle is to realize the value of both structured and situational practice of the disciplines. Structured practice of the disciplines means that we plan ahead and place the practice of a discipline within our day or week, then we do it. Situational practice of a discipline is the spontaneous response of the moment in a time of testing. For example, responding to personal attack with silence or to personal loss and illness with worship are unplanned but valuable responses that lead to spiritual growth.
The Principle of Focus
There will be a tendency, for those who become proficient at practicing the disciplines, to center upon the disciplines themselves. Yet our focus must always be upon Christ. Practicing the disciplines prepares us for greater fellowship with and imitation of Christ.
Taking our eyes off what really matters can be dangerous indeed. "In April 1988 the evening news reported on a skydiving photographer who had jumped from a plane in order to film other skydivers as they fell and opened their parachutes. Suddenly, as the last parachute opened, the picture on the telecast went black. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death. It wasn't until he reached for his rip-cord that he realized that he had jumped out of the plane without his parachute. So intent was he on his goal of filming the other skydivers, he neglected something crucial for saving his own life" (Source unknown).
The Principle of Surrender
Wise training respects the freedom of the Spirit. Remember that He will blow when and where He chooses. We are not ultimately in control of our spiritual transformation; thankfully it is God who is at work in us to desire and do His will (Phil 2:13). But like a sailboat we can open our sails up to the breath of the Spirit. This also applies to the realities of our personality and our season in life. Instead of lamenting that you don't have a thinking orientation or that you have four young children to take care of, find out what your personality or season of life has to offer by paying attention to God and practicing different disciplines than you normally would.
The Principle of Accountability
One of the most valuable things you can do to help you maintain the course of practicing the disciplines is to establish some form of accountability. Going public provides motivation to persevere when you feel like letting up. Receiving encouragement really helps when you have failed and feel like quitting. With some of the disciplines you can use a journal to keep yourself accountable; with other disciplines you need to rely upon a trusted friend or spiritual director who will encourage you and challenge you when you need it. I would suggest that you not lean upon your mate to hold you accountable, but rather seek out a close friend of the same gender whom you will give permission to regularly ask you questions about your practice of the disciplines.
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