In this series of posts, we will be talking about Spiritual Disciplines.
We begin at the beginning…
What are Spiritual Disciplines?
Spiritual Disciplines are the patterns, practices, and habits that help us grow in our knowledge and experience of God and in His likeness.
When we think of spiritual practices, we often think of reading the Bible and praying. These are central, fundamental disciplines, but the full list of disciplines is actually far more extensive than that.
Below is a synthesized list of spiritual disciplines as named by various authors. Take a look.
The Spiritual Disciplines
| Discipline | Author |
| Baptism | Mathis, Whitney |
| Bible: Reading, Study, Meditation, Memorization, Application, Spiritual Reading | Boa, Foster, Ortberg, Mathis, Whitney, Mulholland |
| Celebration | Boa, Foster, Ortberg, Willard |
| Chastity | Boa, Willard |
| Communion | Mathis, Whitney |
| Confession | Boa, Foster, Ortberg, Willard |
| Daily Office | Mulholland |
| Discernment | Barton |
| Endurance: The Experience of Suffering* | Ortberg |
| Evangelism and Disciplemaking (Witness) | Boa, Mathis, Whitney |
| Fasting | Boa, Mulholland, Foster, Mathis, Whitney, Willard |
| Fellowship (Community) | Boa, Mathis, Willard |
| Frugality | Willard |
| Go to Church | Whitney |
| Guidance | Boa, Foster |
| Honoring the Body | Barton |
| Identity in Christ* | Boa |
| Join a Church | Whitney |
| Journaling | Boa, Mathis, Whitney |
| Learning (Corporate and Private) | Whitney |
| Listening to Preaching | Mathis, Whitney |
| Liturgy of the Ordinary* | Warren |
| Perseverance in the Disciplines* | Whitney |
| Prayer (Corporate) | Whitney |
| Prayer (Personal) | Barton, Boa, Foster, Ortberg, Mulholland, Whitney, Willard |
| Rebuke | Mathis |
| Receiving Guidance from the Holy Spirit | Ortberg |
| Research the Church | Whitney |
| Retreat | Mulholland |
| Sabbath | Barton, Comer |
| Sacrifice | Boa, Willard |
| Secrecy | Boa, Ortberg, Willard |
| Self-Examination | Barton |
| Service (Serving) | Boa, Foster, Ortberg, Whitney, Willard |
| Silence | Comer, Boa, Mathis, Whitney, Willard |
| Simplicity | Boa, Comer, Foster |
| Slowing | Comer, Ortberg |
| Solitude | Barton, Boa, Comer, Foster, Mathis, Whitney, Willard |
| Stewardship (Money, Time) | Boa, Whitney, Mathis |
| Submission | Boa, Foster, Willard |
| Worship (Corporate) | Mathis, Whitney |
| Worship (Personal) | Boa, Foster, Mulholland, Whitney, Willard |
Observations
From this list, we can make a few initial observations. We see that the disciplines are…
- Extensive. We won’t go through each one individually in this series, but you can see right away just how many options you have and how much potential and variety there is.
- Specific and concrete. These disciplines are specific, practical things you can try, right away, in your life. We are not just talking about concepts or theology. These practices land in real life. If spirituality feels too vague and pie-in-the-sky for you, these disciplines can give you handles.
- Surprising. Some of these practices are likely quite familiar to you, like prayer and bible reading. But others may be very surprising. Some you may never have realized were even a thing. Some were, perhaps, hiding in plain sight; you’ve seen them in scripture but never thought of them as an ongoing discipline or realized their potential.
Also, it may be helpful to note some of the classification and ranking of the Disciplines…
- Ranking
- Primary. Prayer and Bible reading are primary practices. Many of the other practices dovetail with these, either complementing them (e.g., solitude) or relying on them (e.g., meditation).
- Prerequisites. John Mark Comer notes that possibly silence and solitude are kinds of prerequisite practices. As Comer points out, if you cannot be alone and silent, it may be very difficult to engage in the other disciplines.
- Primary. Prayer and Bible reading are primary practices. Many of the other practices dovetail with these, either complementing them (e.g., solitude) or relying on them (e.g., meditation).
- Classification
- Personal vs. Interpersonal. That many of these are personal (individual) practices is probably obvious and expected, but many habits that are important to our spiritual lives are also corporate and involve others. I think this is important to notice because it will affect how we balance out the practices.
- Abstinence vs. Engagement. Finally, one other aspect to consider as you implement the practices is the balance between disciplines that call for abstaining and those that call for engagement. A balance of these may be helpful, and noticing this quality may direct which ones you select in a particular season of your life (e.g., busy: solitude; depressed: community).
- Personal vs. Interpersonal. That many of these are personal (individual) practices is probably obvious and expected, but many habits that are important to our spiritual lives are also corporate and involve others. I think this is important to notice because it will affect how we balance out the practices.
Spiritual Disciplines for Your Benefit
When I was in college, I remember wanting to grow in the Lord but feeling frustrated in the practical side of that desire. There were two things I knew to do, two things that are essential to growing in the Lord: Read my bible and pray. Now, don’t get me wrong. Generally speaking, those two practices, as noted above, are vital and essential. They’re amazing in fact! But the frustration for me was in how short and vague that list was.
Then a friend pointed me to some literature about the spiritual disciplines, and it’s like the lights went on. It’s like I had been in a dark gym, and all I could see were some dumbbells and barbells, and then someone flipped on the lights, and I saw all these different benches and mats and diagrams on the wall and classes to sign up for. It wasn’t that the dumbbells and barbells were wrong or totally insufficient; they were fundamental! But I finally saw how to implement them into a larger world of options and applications and possibilities.
The spiritual disciplines were that larger world of possibilities and applications. They provide the specifics of how to workout your faith and how to better engage with prayer and bible reading.
I hope this list and this series will pique your interest and be of help. I hope you will research and pursue these disciplines further and that they will greatly benefit you.
Spiritual Disciplines Bibliography
Barton, R. H. (2006). Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books.
Boa, K. (1998). That I May Know God: Pathways to Spiritual Formation. Multnomah Books.
Comer, J. M. (2019). The ruthless elimination of hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world. WaterBrook.
Foster, R. (2008). Celebration of discipline. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
Mathis, D. (2016). Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines. Crossway.
McKelvey, D. K. (2017). Every Moment Holy. Rabbit Room Press.
Mulholland, M. R., Jr. (1993). Invitation to a journey: A road map for spiritual formation. IVP Books.
Ortberg, J. (2002). The life you’ve always wanted: Spiritual disciplines for ordinary people. Zondervan.
Warren, T. H. (2016). Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life. IVP Books.
Whitney, D. S. (1996). Spiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating Fully in the Body of Christ. Moody Publishers.
Whitney, D. S. (2014). Spiritual disciplines for the Christian life. NavPress.
Willard, D. (1999). The spirit of the disciplines: Understanding how God changes lives. HarperOne.
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