Spiritual Practices

Spiritual practices are things that we do to draw near to God.
 
They are also called spiritual disciplines because they involve us in training to form habits which help us to draw close to God. In more detail, they help us to:
 
o               Experience God
o               Develop character
o               Stay awake to God
 
Personal spiritual practices are those that we engage in alone. Here are some:
 
o               Spiritual reading
o               Solitude and silence
o               Accountability and mentoring
o               Practicing Gods presence
o               Fixed times of prayer
o               Fasting and self denial
o               Prayer journaling
o               Contemplative or soaking prayer
o               Gratitude
o               Meditation and memorising
o               Sacrificial giving
o               Praying and singing in tongues
 
 
Corporate spiritual practices are those that we join in together. They can include many of those listed above, together with:
 
o               Singing
o               Serving
o               Turning up
o               The fellowship meal
o               Listening
 
Missional practices put love into action. They include:
 
o               Forgiving
o               Hospitality to strangers
o               Praying for the sick
o               Showing mercy and compassion
o               Speaking out for justice
o               Paying attention to poor people and those who are not honoured
o               Practicing neighbourliness
o               Proclaiming good news
 
The key to seeing these as spiritual practices rather than evangelistic techniques is that they are not done to see ‘results’.
 
You can read more about Spiritual Practices in
The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
Finding Our Way Again by Brian McLaren
Listening to God by Joyce Huggett

 

Dave Halls, 22/01/2009