A Strategy For Our Spiritual Life

In order to gain and develop a healthy spiritual life, we need to invest in the spiritual disciplines. As we have seen in the previous studies, if we wish to "reap" a spiritual life, we need to be "sowing into" our spiritual life. Private disciplines precede public effectiveness. If we wish to have a vibrant relationship with God that will affect every area of our life, we need to be investing into that relationship. Public meetings and ministry are no substitute for a personal time with God. It is through a regular investment in our personal times with God that we will reap the harvest of an abundant spiritual life.

The kind of investment that is needed includes areas such as worship, Bible reading, listening to God's voice, reflection, confession and prayer. However, many people become frustrated with their spiritual disciplines that become empty rituals that have little impact on their daily lives. This can be the experience of established leaders as well as young Christians. Often, the importance of investing in our spiritual life has been emphasised, but little guidance has been given to help us to develop a balanced, practical strategy for spiritual growth. For many, the main investment into their spiritual lives has been through attending church meetings, rather than through personal devotional times. In some circles, speaking about regular investment into spiritual disciplines is even discouraged for fear of introducing legalistic routines. However, developing our spiritual lives requires regular actions, but not empty rituals.

Jesus gave his disciples a strategy or a model for prayer: "This, then, is how you should pray"¦" (Matthew 6:9-13). He did this in order to help them to develop a balanced, healthy prayer life. The prayer that Jesus taught them was not intended to be repeated as a ritual, but to be used as a model or strategy for prayer. Just before teaching the disciples the prayer, Jesus had warned them not to "keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words" (Matthew 6:7). Using Jesus' prayer as a model, we will identify a strategy to help gain and develop a healthy, vibrant spiritual life. This is not intended as a strict formula to keep you in a particular mould, but as a strategy that can be used and adapted to suit your needs. Too often our spiritual growth is hindered by our spiritual disciplines being focused on one or two areas, whilst neglecting other areas. For example, we can be focused on what we feel are our own immediate needs and neglect the area of worship (thanking God for who He is) or listening to God (finding out what He has on His heart for us). For a balanced, vibrant spiritual life, we need to have a clear strategy for our devotional times.

In the study entitled Effective Leaders Are Learners we highlighted that learning is a process, not a one-off event. It takes time for us to begin to think differently and it takes time to change our lifestyle so that we live out what we believe. In order for us to move from the stage of 'thinking new, doing old', to 'thinking new, doing new' we need the support, encouragement and accountability of others. In addition, we need to be investing in processes and strategies that will help us to change our lifestyle, so that real learning takes place. The strategy that will outline is one that can help make significant investments into our spiritual life.

The plan that we would like to outline is drawn from the Bible and the experience of a number of Christian leaders. It can be separated into two main areas: a time and place, and the practise of spiritual disciplines. The first area shows the importance of finding the right environment and time for our devotional times. The second area highlights a practical, five-stage plan to develop a balanced devotional life.