Spiritual Discipline

Spiritual Discipline

The focus word for today is Spiritual Discipline.


1 Timothy 4:7 says, ‘Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.’


The declaration for today is ‘Daily discipline builds spiritual strength; consistency establishes my walk with God.


Godliness Requires Intentional Training


 Paul is asking Timothy to train himself in Godliness. Essentially, this is advice from a mentor to a mentee. Timothy was a young boy when he set out to speak the gospel. It was after a few years that he became a prominent leader in the Church of Ephesus.


Spiritual maturity does not happen accidentally. Growth requires intentional habits. Firstly and most importantly, personal prayer is the first habit that we should all develop. Scripture must be studied daily, which builds our character and behaviour.


Hebrews 5:14 says, ‘But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.’


2 Peter 1:5-7 says, ‘5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.’


Joshua 1:8 says, ‘Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.’


Discipline turns desire into development. A dancer might dance in front of you for a minute or two, but in order to perform their best, they practice for years on end. Paul Wilbur, before performing his album in Israel, practiced for over a year and a half with the choir.


Discipline Builds Strength For Future Seasons


We must ask ourselves daily; am I just living my life night after night, day after day, or am I building myself spiritually everyday?

Training prepares people before challenges arrive. Athletes train for years before competition. An army doesn’t fight wars everyday, but they prepare their body, they remain vigilant, every single day. In the same way, believers must also prepare spiritually. Two instances where I commonly see people enter without training is marriage and ministry. Without proper training and preparation, many fail and struggle to live out their decisions. We see Paul training young Timothy to enter into ministry. He trains Timothy in all aspects of the ministry including the gospel, self-discipline, travels and such. When Timothy becomes a prominent leader of the Ephesus Church, Paul continues to mentor and train him through his letters.

Ephesians 6:11 says, ‘Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.’

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, ‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.’

Psalms 18:34 says, ‘He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.’

Hearts that are steeped in God’s Word are better equipped to deal with challenges that they face.

Firefighters only fight fire when there is a crisis. But they do mock drills everyday to prepare themselves for such instances. In an instance where a building is caught on fire, firefighters are trained and prepared to fight the fire, but a normal person who is untrained will not be able to do so. In the same way, we need to prepare ourselves in the Word everyday to deal with any crisis or challenge that we may be faced with. Preparation reduces panic.

Spiritual Discipline Requires Consistency, Not Occasional Intensity

The word ‘consistency’ is key. We should practice spiritual discipline in our lives at all times and not practice intense prayers only during times of crisis and stray away from that practice later. Most believers go through ‘occasional enthusiasm’, but this cannot replace steady devotion.

Luke 9:23 says, ‘Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me’.

Psalm 1:2 says, ‘but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.’

Galatians 6:9 says, ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’

Small daily discipline shapes long term character. Continue to build yourself in prayer and supplication everyday.

When water gushes past a rock on a daily basis, the rock starts to erode slowly and sometimes even creates patterns as per the flow of the water. When you think about it, water has no strength, it just flows and a rock is steady and hard. But over years through continuous flow, the water is able to mold the rock. In the same way it is only through continuous prayers and daily spiritual discipline that our character gets formed. If we want to reflect a Godly character, we must practice daily spiritual discipline. Consistency carries quiet power.

Discipline Creates Freedom, Not Bondage

I often hear people say, ‘I don’t want a time tabled life, I want one that’s relaxed.’ There might be days when you might not be able to spend a lot of time in prayer because you are tired, overworked or sick, and that’s okay. However, it is important you come back to God, come back to your prayer and not fall off the prayer wagon because of that one instance. Your prayer life is for you, it is not for God or to please anyone else. It is to build and mold your character.

Some people resist discipline because they associate it with restriction. Godly discipline practiced diligently releases great freedom. You will enjoy freedom from destructive habits, instability and spiritual weakness. Instead of bondage, what you will enjoy is spiritual freedom.

John 8: 31-32 says, ‘31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”’

Proverbs 25:28 says, ‘Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.’

Romans 6:22 says, ‘ But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.’

Healthy boundaries strengthen life. Hence, spiritual discipline is essential to our lives. It’s not enough to have a sporadic prayer routine when you face a crisis, but a consistent prayer life will equip you to face challenges head-on while staying strong in your faith. Always be in commune with God in your daily life and set apart time everyday to spend time with God. It’s important to have an unceasing prayer life and a scheduled prayer life.