Christian Spiritual Discipline
What are Christian Spiritual disciplines? They are prayers, fasting, reading the Bible, worshipping God in praises, keeping the Sabbath, observing solitude & silence which is your quiet time with God. These spiritual disciplines when practiced will enable you grow to spiritual maturity and it will bring the fire of God upon your life; every Christian needs this fire to overcome the onslaught of the enemy. These spiritual disciplines will help us to develop our spirit man, that which has been transformed by Christ at salvation when we became born again.
When you practice these disciplines, it will make a huge difference in your life. The effect of its practice will take root down inside your soul and anything dark that is not of God in your life will give way in order for you to bear more fruits in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 6:2 says “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. The devil is the wicked one for he has no mercy at all but the power to overcome him has been given to us. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds”.
Reading the bible is one aspect of spiritual discipline you must cultivate in your life to help you hear the voice of God, hearing the Masters voice will guide you in your daily life. God wants to be holistically involved in all of our lives. Engaging daily in Christian spiritual discipline is constantly shaping and forming you to be who God created you to be. As Christians we should aspire not just to be a professing Christian alone but a practicing Christian.
Spiritual discipline such as prayer, solitude & silence are historical practices where Christians throughout the ages have met with God and given space to form and shape their hearts and lives. The world today is full of noise and distractions and you definitely cannot find God in all that noise and confusion so take time out to spend with God, if you do this regularly, you will be filled with the power of God, the Holy Spirit will come in and reside in you working things out for your good. Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations I will be exalted in the earth”.
Communion with God on a regular basis opens you up into a deeper relationship with Christ Jesus and you will receive power and blessings from above. God says when you draw near to me, I will draw near to you, when God draws near to us, the devil becomes uncomfortable near you because a higher power is now in you and you become a threat to the kingdom of darkness.
Today many people are laboring under unexplainable burdens because the enemy has blinded them from God’s light. Read 2 Samuel 22, 45-46 “Strangers shall submit themselves unto me as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me, strangers shall fade away and they shall be afraid out of their close places” Who are the strangers? They are demons or evil spirits in a person’s life. The bible says they will submit to us and that they will fade away. But they can’t just fade away without you putting an effort. Practicing Christian spiritual discipline will help fade them away.
The Christian spiritual discipline will provide you a rewarding program which will lead you into godly living, you will be able to obey God’s command to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.
By Hilda Oti
