Hello my prayer friends.

As the title indicates a Christians, a genuine truth believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, would want to strive to become more like Christlike. We cannot achieved it on our own, but by reading, study, fasting, meditating, memorizing, and praying from God’s Word, can we gained a better understanding. Also we learned wisdom, discernment, and knowledge that is beneficial to our spiritual growth through the study of God’s word. “The Bible prescribes both personal and interpersonal Spiritual Disciplines~ Donald Whitney

“For example, Christians should read and study the Word of God on their own (personal spiritual disciplines), but they should also hear the Bible read and study it with the church (interpersonal spiritual disciplines). Christian should worship God privately, but they should also worship Him publicly wit His people. Some Spiritual Discipline are by nature practiced alone, such as journaling, solitude, and fasting (though individuals sometimes fast in conjunction with a congregational fast). Other Disciplines are by nature congregational, such as fellowship, hearing God’s Word preached, and participation in the Lord’s Supper-all of which require the presence of people”~ Donald Whitney

In 2014 our family drove ten hours from Prince George, BC. to Abbotsford, BC to hear a guest speaker, Donald. S Whitney on Spiritual Disciplines. It was worth the long drive. Whitney’s speech on Spiritual Disciplines convinced me to improve in an area of my weakness which were: memorization of scripture and simplifying my prayer. Those weakness are still there today, but I came to embrace my weakness to make me stronger in Christ.

Sheesh, that was 10 years ago! I’ve been a Christian since 1995 and never once thought my Christlikeness was perfect and completed. On the contrary, God has humbled me, sanctified me through trials and through my family and friends. I kept telling my three children, ‘we are in a battle! Arm for it!’.

God’s Word is my counselor, comfort, my hope, and I shall cling to His promises with a whole heart and love His commandments to the end. His law is good and He is good to me.

These are points I read in the first chapter:

• Spiritual Disciplines are activities, not attitudes
• Spiritual Disciplines that are biblical, that is, to practices taught or modeled in the Bible.
• Spiritual Disciplines found in Scripture are sufficient for knowing and experiencing God, and for growing in Christlikeness.
• Spiritual Disciplines are practices derived from the gospel, not divorced from the gospel.
• Spiritual Disciplines ae means, not ends. The end-that is, the purpose of practicing the Disciplines-is godliness.
• Spiritual Disciplines

“So the Spiritual Disciplines are those personal and interpersonal activities given by God in the Bible as the sufficient means believers in Jesus Christ are to use in the Spiritual-filled, gospel-driven pursuit of godliness, that is to Christ and conformity to Christ.” ~ Donald Whitney.

I highly recommend Spiritual Disciplines by Donald Whitney, who desire to know HOW to pray or HOW to be disciplined in his life. Whatever you’re a new believer or someone that has been a Christian all your life, if you desires to improve your Christlikeness, this book can help you build those fundamental Biblical basic. We must equipped ourselves for all seasons.

God will uses our friend or circumstances to sharpen us. We cannot become better at sometimes if we don’t spend a greater time in practicing it. I’ve not become a quilter by watching Youtuber on quilting tutorials, but by sewing for many years. And writing my first history novel in my second language, didn’t wrote itself on paper by simply reading tons of historical novel. This could only happened by spending hours of typing, creating characters, research and read about historical novels. Quilting and writing can only have improved by many hours, if not years of PRACTICE.

It is the same with our spiritual growth. Our growth won’t happened or improved by watching other believers or by listening to great sermons. Yes, they’re helpful to our understanding, but we must practice Christianity in all its biblical way, like Jesus taught us.

“I’m sure you’ve seen people who will devote time to learning to paly an instrument, knowing that it takes countless hours to acquire the skills; who will practice hard to improve their sports performance, knowing it takes work to become proficient; who will commit to a long curriculum of intense study to complete a degree; knowing it take sacrifice to succeed. Then many of these same people will give up quickly if they find that Spiritual Discipline don’t come easily, as though becoming like Jesus would not take much effort.” ~ Donald Whitney

Oh boy, I’ve done that!

Oh Lord, forgive your servant for wanting to be Christlike, but not motivated in practicing a spiritual disciplines. Teach me how to practice spiritual discipline and spend more hours into your Word and study it with my whole heart. Let Your Word strengthen my confidence that I can do all thing through You. Let your servant’s effort become ‘sustained and concentrated’. Let my maturity in Christ not become boastful, but encouraging to other believers who desire to become Christlike.

“But we must remember that the mature freedoms of discipline-nurtured godliness do not develop in a single reading through the Bible or in a few forays through some of the other Disciplines. Scripture reminds us that self-control, such as at that expressed through the Spiritual Disciplines, must persevere before it ripens into the mature fruit of godliness. Observe closely the sequence of development in 2 Peter 1:6-“to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness” (niv). The bridge between Spiritual empowered self-control and godliness is perseverance. Occasional self-control results in occasional godliness. But self-control with perseverance results in more consistent Christlikeness. True godliness requires not merely a ten-thousand-hour pursuit, but a life-time of perseverance. ” ~ Donald Whitney

Wow, that is why I’m reading this book for the third time. But this time around my husband and I, are reading together as our morning devotion.

What about you? Do you need Spiritual Disciplines in your life? Then get to it!

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