Celebration of Discipline

by Richard J. Foster

But, and here is the key, the Spiritual Disciplines are actions of body and heart and mind and soul that we actually do. Not just admire. Not just study. Not just debate. But practice.

Distraction is the primary spiritual problem in contemporary culture. Frankly, when we are perpetually distracted, we are unable to discern the Kol Yahweh, the voice of the Lord.

The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.

One word of caution, however, must be given at the outset: to know the mechanics does not mean that we are practicing the Disciplines. The Spiritual Disciplines are an inward and spiritual reality, and the inner attitude of the heart is far more crucial than the mechanics for coming into the reality of the spiritual life.

The moment we feel we can succeed and attain victory over sin by the strength of our will alone is the moment we are worshiping the will. Isn’t it ironic that Paul looks at our most strenuous efforts in the spiritual walk and calls them idolatry, “will worship”?

God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.

Picture a long, narrow ridge with a sheer drop-off on either side. The chasm to the right is the way of moral bankruptcy through human strivings for righteousness. Historically this has been called the heresy of moralism. The chasm to the left is moral bankruptcy through the absence of human strivings. This has been called the heresy of antinomianism. On the ridge there is a path, the Disciplines of the spiritual life. This path leads to the inner transformation and healing for which we seek. We must never veer off to the right or the left, but stay on the path. The path is fraught with severe difficulties, but also with incredible joys. As we travel on this path, the blessing of God will come upon us and reconstruct us into the image of Jesus Christ.

We must always remember that the path does not produce the change; it only places us where the change can occur. This is the path of disciplined grace.

Law-bound Disciplines breathe death.

When we genuinely believe that inner transformation is God’s work and not ours, we can put to rest our passion to set others straight.

Our world is hungry for genuinely changed people. Leo Tolstoy observes, “Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.”6 Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort.

In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in “muchness” and “manyness,” he will rest satisfied. Psychiatrist Carl Jung once remarked, “Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil.”1

It is this continual focus upon obedience and faithfulness that most clearly distinguishes Christian meditation from its Eastern and secular counterparts.

God spoke to them not because they had special abilities, but because they were willing to listen.

Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word.

The truth of the matter is that the great God of the universe, the Creator of all things desires our fellowship.

What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart.

Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind.

Christian meditation goes far beyond the notion of detachment.

No, detachment is not enough; we must go on to attachment. The detachment from the confusion all around us is in order to have a richer attachment to God. Christian meditation leads us to the inner wholeness necessary to give ourselves to God freely.

Meditation sends us into our ordinary world with greater perspective and balance.

That is why meditation is so threatening to us. It boldly calls us to enter into the living presence of God for ourselves. It tells us that God is speaking in the continuous present and wants to address us.

Whereas the study of Scripture centers on exegesis, the meditation of Scripture centers on internalizing and personalizing the passage. The written Word becomes a living word addressed to you.

The following is a brief exercise to aid you in “re-collection” that is simply called “palms down, palms up.”

Occasional joggers do not suddenly enter an Olympic marathon. They prepare and train themselves over a period of time, and so should we. When such a progression is followed, we can expect to pray a year from now with greater authority and spiritual success than at present.

I determined to learn to pray so that my experience conformed to the words of Jesus rather than try to make his words conform to my impoverished experience.

To understand that the work of prayer involves a learning process saves us from arrogantly dismissing it as false or unreal. If we turn on our television set and it does not work, we do not declare that there are no such things as electronic frequencies in the air or on the cable. We assume something is wrong, something we can find and correct. We check the plug, switch, circuitry until we discover what is blocking the flow of this mysterious energy that transmits pictures. We know the problem has been found and fixed by seeing whether or not the TV works. It is the same with prayer. We can determine if we are praying correctly if the requests come to pass. If not, we look for the “block”; perhaps we are praying wrongly, perhaps something within us needs changing, perhaps there are new principles of prayer to be learned, perhaps patience and persistence are needed. We listen, make the necessary adjustments, and try again. We can know that our prayers are being answered as surely as we can know that the television set is working.

The inner sense of compassion is one of the clearest indications from the Lord that this is a prayer project for you. In times of meditation there may come a rise in the heart, a compulsion to intercede, an assurance of rightness, a flow of the Spirit. This inner “yes” is the divine authorization for you to pray for the person or situation. If the idea is accompanied with a sense of dread, then probably you should set it aside. God will lead someone else to pray for the matter.

Coincidence? Perhaps, but as Archbishop William Temple notes, the coincidences occur much more frequently when he prays.

Saturate the services of worship with your prayers. See the Lord high and lifted up filling the sanctuary with his presence.

Biblical fasting always centers on spiritual purposes.

So, although Jesus does not say “If you fast,” neither does he say “You must fast.” His word is, very simply, “When you fast.”

To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want. At times there is such stress upon the blessings and benefits of fasting that we would be tempted to believe that with a little fast we could have the world, including God, eating out of our hands.

Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained.

Fasting helps us keep our balance in life.

This is not excessive asceticism; it is discipline and discipline brings freedom.

Outwardly you will be performing the regular duties of your day, but inwardly you will be in prayer and adoration, song, and worship. In a new way, cause every task of the day to be a sacred ministry to the Lord. However mundane your duties, for you they are a sacrament. Cultivate a “gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.”8 Break your fast with a light meal of fresh fruits and vegetables and a good deal of inner rejoicing.

You are to be the master of your stomach, not its slave. If family obligations permit it, devote the time you would normally use eating to meditation and prayer.

Although the physical aspects of fasting intrigue us, we must never forget that the major work of scriptural fasting is in the realm of the spirit.

Without a knowledge of the truth, we will not be free.

Study is a specific kind of experience in which through careful attention to reality the mind is enabled to move in a certain direction.

In study there are two “books” to be studied: verbal and nonverbal. Books and lectures, therefore, constitute only half the field of study, perhaps less. The world of nature and, most important, the careful observation of events and actions are the primary nonverbal fields of study.

Although comprehension defines what we are studying, reflection defines the significance of what we are studying.

The wise writer of Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for every matter under heaven, and the time for critical analysis of a book comes after careful understanding and interpretation.

The first and most important book we are to study is the Bible. The psalmist asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” He then answers his own question, “By guarding it according to thy word,” and adds, “I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:9, 11).

Note that the central purpose is not doctrinal purity (though that is no doubt involved) but inner transformation. We come to the Scripture to be changed, not to amass information.

We must understand, however, that a vast difference exists between the study of Scripture and the devotional reading of Scripture. In the study of Scripture a high priority is placed upon interpretation: what it means. In the devotional reading of Scripture a high priority is placed upon application: what it means for me.

In addition to studying the Bible, do not neglect the study of some of the experiential classics in Christian literature. Begin with The Confessions of St. Augustine. Next turn to The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Don’t neglect The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. For an added pleasure read The Little Flowers of St. Francis by Brother Ugolino. Perhaps you might want something a bit heavier next like the Pensées of Blaise Pascal. Enjoy the Table Talks of Martin Luther before you wade into Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Consider reading the pacemaker of religious journal writing, The Journal of George Fox, or perhaps the better-known Journal of John Wesley. Read carefully William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life; its words carry a contemporary ring. From the twentieth century read A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly, The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.

One word of caution is in order. Do not be overwhelmed or discouraged by all the books you have not read. You will probably not read all those listed here and will undoubtedly read others not noted.

Remember that the key to the Discipline of study is not reading many books, but experiencing what we do read.