"Disciplines for Life"

I did it again. I thought I could stretch my book out further than it would go. I thought when I left the house this morning that I'd have enough left to read to see me through both the to and fro bus trips of my day, but I finished it on the way to work, and I didn't stick another book in my bag for the ride home...

But my devouring the last chapters on the way to work says something about the book. It's called Disciplines for Life by C.J. Mahaney and John Loftness. It's topic is the spiritual disciplines.

I had always kind of had a problem with the idea of the "quiet time" that I was presented with as I was growing up. The whole "15 minutes of bible reading, 15 minutes of prayer" seemed so dry and obligatory to me. I was never able to stay consistant because I didn't see any change come from it. When I searched scripture, I didn't see this accepted method perscribed anywhere. I began to wonder then if this whole "quiet time" thing was really a biblical idea...

Well, turns out it isn't and it is. The 15/15 upon waking format is directly mandated nowhere in scripture. However, the things that the 15/15 upon waking format encompass are. If you ask me now, I'm a hearty advocate of the traditional quiet time, because I've come to a better understanding of the heart motivation that must accompany the practical action. When this is properly understood, these times are rich, precious, and work alot of change in my heart and life.

That's why I liked this book so much. It didn't talk about "quiet times" first thing in the morning. It didn't even talk about quiet times. It just talked about the spiritual disciplines displayed in scripture and took them one per chapter, encrouaging the reader to work them into their life. Some things can't be practiced daily, but some things must if we're to truly grow in godliness. And honestly, most of these daily disciplines are best accomplished in the traditional notion of a "quiet time". I appreciated this book's focus on the heart and our posture before God and not so much on "here are the bullet points - now get to work checking them off! It'll please the Lord!" Friends, no it won't. God doesn't care so much about what we're doing as what the stance of our heart is. Quiet times are completely useless if we're just checking off boxes.

One of the things that really stood out to me was the emphasis on flexibility. We should tailor our practice of the spiritual disciplines to meet our spiritual needs at a given time, as well as be open to the Holy Spirit leading our pursuit of God in a different direction. For example, if we're convicted of a specific sin, we shouldn't feel chained to our Bible reading plan - we should feel free to follow up on that conviction with study of what scripture has to say about that sin. Or if we're presented with a major decision, we shouldn't feel we can't break our morning quiet time routine to spend an extended time praying and seeking God for guidance later in the day. Consistancy is important, but rigidity can be dangerous.

My quiet times lately haven't seemed very fulfilling. I had this book on my reading list for the year and decided it was time to read it. I realized that I had fallen into "checking off boxes." I'd become a desperate, obliged habit keeper. But after reading this book I see that some things have got to change.

I'm going to read through it again and revamp my practice of the spiritual disciplines. I whole-heartedly recommend it to everyone who feels like something's gotta change - because chances are, something does.