Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The Spiritual Disciplines

In our discussion of the Spiritual Disciplines, it is helpful to have a list and brief explanation of some of them. This can act as a short reference as well as a springboard.

This list and classification come from Dallas Willard. Though not comprehensive, it is a very helpful list.

The two categories are important. The first, “Disciplines of Abstinence,” are designed to help us remove destructive and unhelpful things from our lives through acts that force us to stop, wait, remove, or eliminate. The “Disciplines of Engagement” are intended to build the right kinds of attitudes and habits into our daily lives.

Disciplines of Abstinence
Solitude: The practice of spending time without any others or any distractions.
Silence: No noise or conversation. Just you and God.
Fasting: Abstain from food, media, entertainment, or anything else that occupies your time.
Frugality: Use your money for purposes outside your own needs for a time.
Chastity: 1 Corinthians 7:8, “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
Secrecy: Do not allow anyone to know of the deeds you do or the money you give in order to avoid doing them for the wrong motivations. Only God needs to know.
Sacrifice: Stretch your sense of what you can do without for the sake of those who have less.

Disciplines of Engagement
Study
: Memorize Scripture and expand your universe of biblical study helps.
Worship: Engage in corporate worship and include worship in your own prayer time.
Celebration: Practice being grateful and thankful both in your own relationship with Christ and with other believers. Express encouragement and thankfulness to others.
Service: Give your time to the church and/or to others. Ponder tithing your time.
Prayer: Take deliberate steps to pray regularly and with purpose. Praying through the Psalms is a good way to increase your “prayer vocabulary.”
Fellowship: Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Confession: Practice confessing your sins to trusted people who will pray with you and be spiritual allies.
Submission: Submit to the proper people in the proper ways—fight against the sin of pride.

13 comments:

David said...

Thanks for this post. It's very helpful.

Hannah said...

This is awesome. Thanks for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

Hey,
Thaks so much for this post. I was lookingfor a list of SDs, and this is a perfect place for our small group to start!
Appreciate it.

Unknown said...

This is a good list becasue it is good.

Anonymous said...

This is definitly a good list. It is better than playing Halo Reach!

Anonymous said...

hey its issac i love care bears more than torrey

Chuck Norris said...

Nobody loves care bears more than me!!

Anonymous said...

Plz leave only nice comments for my website!

Anonymous said...

thanks whoever made this list made my homework super easy

Anonymous said...

bible was so easy now yeah

Anonymous said...

This is good, and hard...

LKershey@gmail.com said...

A serious thank-you. I"m just starting to find my way. Well, learning to listen to what the Lord has been saying all along. I just started to try to understand spiritual disciplines and stumbled upon your wonderful collection of information. Thanks for taking the time to share what you've learned. God Bless.

Jeff said...

Thank you for this post. You've simplified the habits using the two categories of abstinence and engagement which makes it easier for me to remember. God bless!