Spirituality is about seeking a deeper connection with God. This doesn’t happen automatically. It takes commitment and perseverance to deepen that connection, which fosters spiritual growth. What critical skill is needed to deepen one’s relationship with God and grow spiritually? Let’s examine it.
Discipline is Key to Spiritual Growth
All relationships require strong commitment, communication, and love. The underpinning of all this is discipline. Your relationship with God is no different; you need a strong commitment to following God (discipline) strong communication (prayer), and you have built the foundation for love to grow. You can still grow spiritually without discipline, but it will be inconsistent and more challenging. A recent article about discipline and spirituality phrased it this way:
“A disciple of Jesus Christ is called to be a disciplined servant of our Savior. And every follower of Christ comes to realize that spiritual growth does not just happen automatically. In fact, whenever we fail to maintain discipline, we take a step backward and stunt our spiritual growth.”
How the “Shoulds” Affect My Spiritually!
We are all a “work in progress.” In many of the spiritual direction meetings I have had, the word “should” usually comes up often as:
- “I should be closer to God.”
- “I should be better at prayer.”
- “I should be able to clear my mind and meditate better.”
As a spiritual director, I believe the word “should” needs to be removed from our vocabulary. This sets expectations for ourselves as to “where we should be.” These are not God’s expectations but our own. Several years ago, one of our deacons said in a homily:
” You are right now exactly where God wants you to be. How can it be any different?”
How can it be any different? It can’t. God has us *exactly* where we are for a reason. I think once we accept that, we are more open to cooperating with God:
“An undisciplined life creates complex problems. After all, God wired you to live a disciplined life. “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). And so, it is especially critical that your thought life comes under the control of the Holy Spirit.”
How Can I Grow Spiritually?
Instilling discipline is the key. Spiritual growth requires we have self-control. You can become more disciplined, and you will feel the positive results by getting closer to God:
- Create clear goals and objectives for your spiritual life, such as studying scripture, deepening your prayer life, and serving others.
- Build a structure around your prayer life, such as setting aside a consistent time and place for prayer, and create a routine, i.e., pray the daily readings, read the bible, reflect on your prayer, and journal your thoughts and feelings
- You can hold yourself accountable by sharing your goals and objectives with someone you trust. If we are undisciplined now, we will likely struggle to be responsible for ourselves. This may change over time, but we need someone to help us become more disciplined.
- Retreats are always helpful in building discipline. You can build a weekly “retreat” into your schedule by setting aside your “Holy Hour” adoration time at your church or home.
- If you are in Spiritual Direction or have a spiritual mentor, they can help you become more disciplined in your spiritual life and hold you accountable to your goals and objectives.
You will find that the more disciplined you become in your prayer life, the more peaceful you will become. This is God’s peace, radically different from the “peace” we get from the world. Please let me know your thoughts about this article in the “Comments” section.
Peace
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