A Brief Examination of Disciplines that Aid Spiritual Formation

Before we look at the disciplines, let me begin with a word of caution: The disciplines themselves are not holy. They do not bring blessings, transformation, or new life. Only God can do that. Just as a confession of faith in Jesus is powerless without Jesus to give us salvation, the disciplines apart from the Holy Spirit cannot produce change or bring us into God’s presence. This is a primary difference between biblical spiritual formation and new age or Eastern mysticism. The disciplines position us to receive God’s transforming life.

Complete Renovation

Scripture promises that our minds will be renewed (Rom 12:2) and, as we contemplate Jesus, we will be “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Cor 3:18). The “same image” is “his image” (NIV). “By gazing at the nature of God with unveiled minds, all of us Christians can be more like him” 1 and reflect his glory.

The word translated “renewal” is anakainōsis, is “not found outside Christian lit[erature].”2 Some suggest that Paul coined this word.3 It means “to cause something to become new and different” or to be changed “to a previous preferable state”4 (as in the Garden). A form of this word is used again by Paul when he says, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed, (anakainoō), day by day” (2 Cor 4:16, ESV). It is with this body that is “wasting away” that we worship God. We “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship [emphasis added]” (Rom 12:1, ESV). We use our bodies to employ the disciplines that bring anakainōsis and metamorphóō. Dallas Willard wrote:

The human body is the primary field of independent power and freedom given by God to people. Put simply—no body, no power. People have a body for one reason—that we might have at our disposal the resources that would allow us to be persons in fellowship and cooperation with a personal God.5

With your mouth, you pray; with your eyes, you read; with your feet, you walk into solitude; and with your hands, you feed the hungry.

The renowned NT scholar Frank Stagg wrote about renewal and summed up our discussion quite well:

Regeneration and renewal belong to God alone. Anakainōsis, the word for “renewal,” is an action NOUN, and it is employed in the New Testament, along with verb forms, to describe a continuing renewal. … Colossians 3:10 describes the ‘new man’ as ‘the one being renewed unto thorough knowledge according to the image of the one having created him.’ Thus the ‘new man,’ the ‘newness of life,’ the ‘regeneration,’ or ‘renewal,’ however designated, is traced to an initial act and a continuing act of God as the giver and sustainer of eternal life.6

How can we ensure that this renewal takes place? I suggest this through a continual pursuit of God through spiritual disciplines—what Willard calls, “disciplines for the spiritual life.”7 We will only look at some of these in this blog. However, in Blog Number 6, there will be suggested reading materials where you can go deeper. We, like Richard Foster, in his classic Celebration of Discipline, will separate the disciplines into two categories: inward and outward.

The Inward Disciplines

Biblical Meditation

Meditation is a word we find in the Hebrew Scriptures 58 times.8 It is a word in our modern culture that many believers fear, as it conjures up images of gurus in the East seeking a higher consciousness. God told Joshua, “You shall meditate on [the Torah] day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Josh 1:8, ESV). Thus, meditating on God’s Word is key to not only blessing but empowerment for obedience. The book of Psalms begins with a similar admonition with the promise of continual prosperity, “like a tree planted by streams of water” (Ps 1:2-3, ESV).

The most basic way to engage God’s Word is to simply read it. The Jewish people go through the Torah and much of the prophets every year in what’s called the Parashat Hashavuah (Weekly Reading). There are many fine Bible reading plans that are freely available online.

However, sometimes, it will be profitable to read just a few verses and spend 15 to 30 minutes meditating and studying those verses. This is called Lectio Divina (Divine Reading), “[I]t’s a practice of slowing down and chewing on Scripture through four movements: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio; that is, reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation.”9 Foster says it is “listening to the text of Scripture—really listening, listening, yielded and still.”10

Well, most people are not going to learn Greek and Hebrew, there are many tools that can help you go deeper in Scripture. In the same way that we unpacked the Greek word for “renewed,” above, you can do word studies and see how different Bible authors used the same word in other passages. Logos is probably the best Bible software, but quite pricey. You’ll find many free options as well. 

Prayer

If you are reading this, you probably have a decent understanding of prayer. Are you aware that prayer can shape history? If we understood the power of prayer, we would pray more. Flora Wuellner penned these challenging words:

Where is our Messiah, who is alive and lives in power? … Most liberal Protestant churches have never even heard of the prayer of power in his name. The church has become an organization of well-meaning idealists, working for Messiah but far from his presence and power.11

During World War II, world-renowned intercessor Rees Howells prayed with his team of prayer warriors as British pilots were outnumbered four to one by the Germans. It was a losing battle, yet somehow the Brits overcame. Winston Churchill famously said of the pilots, “Never has so much been owed by so many to so few,” but he might as well have been speaking of the intercessors.12

Most days, I use the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) as an outline, and it can take anywhere from fifeteen minutes to an hour or more. I begin with worship and then pray for God’s kingdom purposes to be done in me and those around me according to his perfect plan in heaven. I ask him to give me what I need to be sustained spiritually, and then I celebrate his forgiveness while choosing to forgive others. I am asking him to protect me from temptation to break the enemy’s power over me and my family. I end with worship.

Silent Prayer

On my fourth day in Scotland, the day that the Lord really revealed himself to me, I decided to spend thirty minutes in silent prayer. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it is biblical: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10, ESV). We tend to think that prayer must involve using our tongues. Those of us from the Western cultures value action. Silence takes faith, believing that, even as you are speechless, God is working.

I liken it to sunbathing (if you’re into that). Millions of people go to the beach every week and lie down and do nothing, hoping to get a suntan. How much more, when we are beholding the glorious son of God, should we expect something to take place in our soul? It is hard to be silent when you are in a hurry. While I would certainly not endorse everything that the evolutionary theorist Carl Jung said, I can’t argue with this bit of wisdom: ‘Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil.’13 Willard wrote, “We should take it as our aim, to live our lives entirely without hurry. We should form a clear intention to live without hurry. One day at a time.”14 Tyler Stanton writes:

Stillness before God transforms us into unhurried love. It is in the stillness of silent prayer that God turns over the soil of our hearts, revealing our desires to us and the source of their fullest satisfaction. When we stop moving, stop talking, and arrive present and quiet before God, he takes all of our disordered desires, distorted attachments, and codependencies and transforms them into love.15

It was Augustine who compared silence to “Entering into Joy,” when he penned the original Imagine16—long before John Lennon.

I continued the practice after I returned from Scotland. In late May 2023, Israel was under attack from Hamas. My phone alerted me that rockets were incoming as I sat in silent prayer on my balcony. It was one of those moments where the presence of God was so strong. To be clear, if I was in danger, the sirens would’ve sounded in my city, and I would have gone to our safe room. But still, it was a surreal moment, knowing that the cities around me were being attacked, and I was simply on my balcony, enjoying the presence of God—not unlike Jesus sleeping in the boat during a deadly storm (Matt 8:23-27). I had to make a choice. Stay in God’s presence—or give in to hurry. I stayed.

Start with five minutes of silence. It will be more difficult than you think if you have not yet tried it. Then, go longer—try ten minutes. During this time, focus on the Lord and allow him to search your heart. Some days will be fascinating, others not so much. Remember: You can get sunburned even when the sun is covered by clouds!

Solitude

Even though Jesus only had three years to build the most significant ministry ever, he would often disappear to be alone with God. Or maybe it was because he was building the most far-reaching ministry ever that he felt the need to spend even more time in solitude. Luke records that as the crowds grew larger, “he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16, ESV). If Yeshua needed more time with God as his influence grew, how much more do we? John Mark Comer agrees: “In seasons of busyness, we need more time in the quiet place, not less, definitely not less.”17

Caption: The Judean Desert 

What does solitude look like? Willard calls it “the most radical of the disciplines for life in the spirit.”18 Who would voluntarily take on something that is used as a torture tactic to get prisoners to confess? “Solitary confinement is used to break the strongest of wills.”19

It could be a hike in the mountains or a trek in the desert (which are both possible to us here in Israel). Or maybe something more drastic, like going to Scotland for several weeks to lock yourself in a ‘cell’ (more on that word in the next blog) to seek the Lord. I have a friend who, once a month, goes to a cabin in the woods for two days of prayer. Jesus spent forty days in the desert seeking God before being launched into fame (Luke 4:1-2). My experience is that when I commit myself to solitude, I come back changed. Solitude must be planned. You should look at your weekly, monthly, and yearly calendar to plan times of solitude.

Fasting

Fasting is not twisting God’s arm. It is not a hunger strike against heaven. Fasting is cutting off the flesh to open up the spirit. We take a break from earthly food to receive heavenly food. We know from Scripture that David, Esther, Daniel, Moses, and, of course, Yeshua, among so many others, fasted. The Bible indicates that fasting, with humility and prayer, is a powerful tool in spiritual warfare (see Daniel 10:12-14).

Fasting, as in the case of Esther, can change facts on the ground. Years ago, as a young youth pastor, I found myself quite unhappy, and in fact, I didn’t like my youth group very much. I was the problem, not them. I decided to fast for three days. On the following Wednesday night, during youth group, the Spirit of God came, and our youth group was never the same!

Richard Foster shares, “The group fast can be a wonderful and powerful experience provided there is a prepared people who are of one mind in these matters. Serious problems in churches or other groups can be dealt with and relationships healed through unified group prayer and fasting.”20 Twenty-five years ago, I was part of a large ministry with an international impact that was going through a crisis. All the leaders committed to fast and pray for three days. In the natural, there was no answer to our situation. At the last minute, just before the fast would end, as we were gathered for prayer, God did a miracle in changing the heart of someone in a different geographical location that resolved the issue.

If we had more space here in this blog, there would be much more we could say about fasting. May God give you grace to see how fasting can aid spiritual formation.

The Outward Disciplines

Humility

A passage in Andrew Murray’s Humility captures the utter necessity of this virtue. He sees humility as the root from which all other virtues come.

If humility be the first, the all-including grace of the life of Jesus,—if humility be the secret of His atonement,—then the health and strength of our spiritual life will entirely depend upon our putting this grace first too, and making humility the chief thing we admire in Him, the chief thing we ask of Him, the one thing for which we sacrifice all else.21

Jesus’ life was built around intentional humility, washing the feet of his disciples like a servant (John 13), to allowing himself to be arrested, mocked, beaten, and crucified.

As a young married man, we vacationed with my parents, who were quite wealthy at the time. As we arrived at the hotel in Miami, someone came to carry my bags. Something felt right about this. Being served. I enjoyed it. But before I could revel in my new status too long, I was seized with conviction. I could barely feed my family, and there I was, pretending to be rich. I learned there that humility must be practiced. It must be intentional. Except for my parent’s money, it could’ve been me carrying somebody else’s bags.

Paul tells us exactly how we can express humility. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:3–4, ESV). This leads into the early church hymn that celebrated the humility of Jesus—leaving the comfort of heaven to become a man, not just a man, but a servant. He then endured the humiliating death of crucifixion (Phil 2:5-8). One of the most powerful tools for spiritual formation is embracing humility—which is considering others better than yourself—every day.

A fifth-century desert monk named Abba Zosimas, who lived in modern-day Israel, talked about the importance of turning humility into a habit so that it becomes “second nature.” 

When someone learns this art (of redirecting our habits into something valuable) well and practices it, gradually, by exercising it, it becomes like a second nature to the doctor or the sophist. Then such people cannot explain or express how this habit occurred gradually … and how imperceptibly it has seized their soul, simply by practicing the art. The same also happens in the case of humility. For, from the keeping of the commandments, a certain habitual humility occurs, which cannot be explained in words.22

I must confess I am not inherently humble, and I do not naturally consider others more significant than myself. But over many years, I have sought to put this principle into action so that it might become habitual, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the effect of the Word of God inside me.

Empowerment

When the Spirit touched Billy Graham, he confessed it would change the course of his ministry. He had been spending the day studying the Scriptures with Stephen Olford about the Spirit’s empowerment when suddenly he was overcome. “My heart is so flooded with the Holy Spirit!” They alternately wept and laughed, and Billy began walking back and forth across the room, saying, “I have it! I’m filled. I’m filled. This is the turning point of my life. This will revolutionize my ministry.”23

If you have never had this empowerment, ask the Lord for it. Ask with the understanding that he wants you to have it more than you want to receive it.

 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! [emphasis added] (Luke 11:11-13, New International Version).

If you have experienced what many call the baptism of the Holy Spirit 24 or what Wesley called a second blessing “subsequent to conversion,”25 you should know there is more. After the apostles were immersed in the Holy Spirit on the Jewish Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), they continued to pray for empowerment (see Acts 4:31). Just as the Israelites had to collect manna daily, we come to the Holy Spirit every day for fresh manna in the Spirit. I believe this is what Yeshua meant when he spoke of asking for daily bread (Matt. 6:11) in addition to sustenance for bodies.

Self-Denial

In our next blog, we’re going to study the Desert Fathers and their fascinating history. There’s no question that some of the Fathers went overboard in their embracing of asceticism (John Chrysostom died early due to the self-inflicted damage he did to himself when he lived an ascetic life as a hermit monk.26); however, self-denial as a discipline reaps rewards (Heb. 12:11). Simple things such as leaving the last slice of pizza for someone else, or not eating dessert, can have an impact. When you embrace a lifestyle of self-denial, it will be that much easier to deny yourself when the stakes are higher.

If we look at the life of Paul, he embraced death constantly in his efforts to reach people with the gospel (2 Cor. 4:7-12, 11:23-29). He lived a crucified life (Gal 2:20), embracing Jesus’ words, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23–24, ESV).

The fourth-century monk, John Cassian, wrote in On the Eight Vices, “A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied.”27 Two of the primary leaders in the first grade awakening were John Wesley and George Whitfield. I’ve always been struck that Whitfield died in his 50s, unhealthy, overweight, and burned out. It is reported that “In one week, he often preached a dozen times or more and spent 40 or 50 hours in the pulpit.”28 Many would find that commendable, but psychologists would call that workaholism.

Wesley, on the other hand, adopted the Cassian rule, “Eat[ing] a little less than you desire,”29 and lived to 87, weighing under 130 pounds. To be clear, this is not about weight loss but spiritual discipline. Methodism stems from the disciplined way of life the early Methodists embraced. Wesley explained that just as the quality of music depended on the quality of the instrument being played, it was essential that our bodies (God’s instrument) are taken care of. “If these instruments, by which the soul works, are disordered, the soul itself must be hindered in its operations. Let a musician be ever so skillful, he will make but poor music if his instrument is out of tune.”30 Thus, Wesley lived a crucified life.

As leaders, we can be tempted to expect honor. Paul does teach that elders of the church should be held in high regard (1 Tim 5:17), but this is not for us to seek. Many years ago, I was at a dinner with many other believers. At the end of the meal, one piece of chicken was left. A pastor who attended not only took the chicken but said something that let everyone else there know that he deserved it because of his status. You might say, “it’s just a piece of chicken.” If you can’t pass the chicken test, how can you pass the martyr test? Embrace the grace of self-denial, and God will bless you in so many other ways.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the powerful spiritual disciplines that, if done in faith and humility before God, will produce spiritual formation in your life. There is so much that we could not cover here. We cannot ignore corporate spiritual formation that takes place in corporate Worship, as well as corporate service and evangelism, confession. The early church survived by memorizing and corporately confessing the truths eventually written in the NT. In our Tel Aviv base Congregation, we have a confession in Hebrew that incorporates both the Shema (Deut 6:4), which is central to Judaism, and passages from the NT, that affirm the work of Yeshua on our behalf, which we confess together every Friday afternoon. We could have talked about living a simplistic life, which is so relevant in a consumer-oriented world. Together, we can continue to explore these dynamics, which will transform us into the image of Yeshua. I’m not writing as an expert but as a fellow pilgrim on the road to transformation and renewal.

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1.Bruce B. Barton and Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 323.

2.William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 64.

3.James Moulton and George Milton, The vocabulary of the Greek Testament illustrated from the papyri and other non-literary sources (London, UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1929), 34.

4.Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1991), 157, 594.

5.Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2009) 92, Kindle.

6.Frank Stagg, New Testament Theology (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1962), 118.

7.Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, 17.

8.Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline (London, UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1989), 19.

9.Rich Villodas, The Deeply Formed Life (Colorado Spring, CO: Waterbrook, 2020), 39, Kindle.

10.Richard Foster, Sanctuary of the Soul, Journey into Meditative (Downers Groves, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 40.

11.Flora Wuellner, Prayer and the Living Christ (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1969), 12.

12.Matt Locket, “Rees Howells: How Prayers Played a Role in Ending Hitler’s Reign of Death” Justice House, accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.jhopdc.com/rees-howells-part-2.

13.Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 19.

14.John Ortberg, foreword to The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world, by John Mark Comer (Colorado Spring, CO: Waterbrook, 2019), location 33, Kindle. 

15.Tyler Staton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer (London: John Murray Press, 2022), 48-49, Kindle.

16.See Augstine’s poem, Entering into Joy.

17.Comer, Hurry, 130.

18.Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, 100.

19.Ibid., 101.

20.Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 62.

21.Andrew Murray, Humility: The Beauty of Holiness (New York; London; Glasgow: Fleming H. Revell, 1800), 21.

22.John Chryssavgis, In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers (Bloomington, ID: World Wisdom, 2008), 55, Kindle.

23.Sherwood Eliot Wirt, Billy: A Personal Look Billy Graham, the World’s Best-Loved Evangelist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1997), 28.

24.Amos Yong, The Spirit Pour Out on All Flesh (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 28, Kindle. 

25.Allan Heaton Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, Global Charismatic Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 25, Kindle.

26.Pauline Allen and Wendy Mayer, John Chrysostom, (New York: Routledge, 2000), 6.   

27.John Cassian, “On the Eight Vices,” Orthodox Church Fathers, accessed on April 28, 2024, https://orthodoxchurchfathers.com/fathers/philokalia/st-john-cassian-on-the-eight-vices.html.

28.“George Whitefield: Did You Know?” Christianity Today, accessed May 4, 2024, https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-38/george-whitefield-did-you-know.html.

29.Jeremy Steele, “10 fascinating facts about John Wesley and United Methodism,” accessed on May 4, 2024, https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/10-fascinating-facts-about-john-wesley-and-united-methodism.

30.Phillip Ott, “John Wesley on Health as Wholeness,” Journal of Religion and Health30, No. 1, (Spring 1991): 50.