We live in a grab-and-go society. Unfortunately, we’ve developed a similar attitude with our spirituality. We pull up to church on Sunday morning, pop in for a sermon, fill up on good feels, and head out for another week. We have 24-hour access to a five-star buffet, but we settle for fast-food. No matter how satisfying the sermon or the spiritual experience, a once-a-week meal can never substitute for daily sustenance. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is meant to be so much more.
When we think about discipline, we often think of a parent disciplining a child or an athlete training. Spiritual disciplines—such as prayer, Bible study, worship, and giving—help instruct us in the kind of lifestyle choices God wants us to make. Just like athletic training works to strengthen the mind and body of an athlete, spiritual disciplines work in our hearts, making us into individuals who are more like Christ.
We all know that any food—even fast food or junk food—can provide some nourishment and is certainly better than no food at all. In the same way, Christians obviously receive some nourishment from church services which are, in fact, an important part of our spiritual lives. But a Sunday morning sermon shouldn’t be the only spiritual “meal” of the week. So, here are a few ideas to help you strengthen your daily spiritual diet.
Prayer
Prayer is a conversation between you and God. It does not require a certain posture or place. While times of quiet, private prayers are important, it’s equally important that we maintain an attitude of prayer throughout the day. Basically, we should pray whenever we have the opportunity.
We can pray out loud or silently. We can sing our prayers, write our prayers, or use scripture to read our prayers. We can and should pray anywhere and everywhere. The most important thing is to make prayer an everyday part of our lives.
Bible Study
The primary way that God speaks to us is through His Word. According to statistics, however, the majority of us do not read our Bibles even once a week outside of the Sunday worship service. There is really no excuse
If we don’t read well or don’t have time to read, we can listen to an audio version of God’s Word while driving to work or getting dressed in the morning. If we have a hard time understanding God’s Word, we can buy an easy-to-read version or even a children’s version of the Bible, and start there. If we think the Bible is boring, we can try a Bible with comic book illustrations or watch the Bible in a movie format or listen to an audible story format. The Bible is relevant and interesting, but we will never know if we don’t pick it up.
Giving
Giving should be a way of life for Christians. While giving often involves money, it certainly is about more than just throwing a few bucks in the offering plate. Giving as a Christian discipline involves daily giving of our time, money and resources. We can give to our families. We can give to friends. We can even give to strangers. We should discipline ourselves to look for ways to give.
If we want to grow closer to the Lord, we have to take spiritual disciplines seriously. The first step is to quit making excuses about why we can’t. The second step is to ask God to give us a desire to spend more time with Him through a steady diet of prayer, Bible study, and giving. There is no reason for us to be satisfied with a spiritual fast-food diet. Let’s start this year off right, and go for the buffet. Let’s practice spiritual disciplines and experience the delights the Lord has to offer.