Faith and Doubt

in a Culture of Disbelief

  • Home
  • About
  • Milestones
  • Contact

3 Keys to Spiritual Growth

April 15, 2013 1 Comment

Share this post:

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email

SapplingYou react the same way for the umpteenth time, and you don’t know why. That grumbling voice of self-criticism won’t shut-up. Your key relationships seem to be experiencing “the blahs.” Agree with any of these statements? You may be stuck. Emotional and spiritual maturity aren’t automatic. Some people reach a certain point and stop because of pain, a chronic situation, or a lack of vision. Actually, the problem may even be more practical than any of this.

Reality check, not guilt trip: Most people spend more time planning their vacation than their spiritual growth. Little of enduring value takes shape without a plan.  These three, simple keys can get you growing again.

1.  Make a plan

My wife and I set an appointment each week to keep our relationship healthy. It may seem cold and calculated, but there’s another term for it, called “Date Night.”  A growing relationship with God also requires a regular appointed time and place. If your devotional time is completely spontaneous, then you eventually will lose heart.

– Set an appointment (time and place)

– Follow a plan (Prayer, reading plan, journaling…)

– Start with small and sustainable.

2.  Learn to pray

Hurry, noise and crowds–the chief competitors of spiritual growth. Prayer requires a healthier pace for mind and heart, if only for a few minutes. No relationship thrives by imposing will upon will. Learning to hear God’s “still small voice” takes time and trust.  If it seems your prayers go nowhere, then learn to crawl before you walk. Follow a the simple outline found at this link:  The Lord’s Prayer.  For further direction, read Martin Luther’s, A Simple Way to Pray, based on the Lord’s Prayer.

Pray this prayer daily, pausing at each point to allow your study and reflection to bear upon each pause.

3.  Practice Disciplines of Grace

The main charge against being intentional about spiritual growth is legalism.  But self-discipline and self-righteousness are not the same.  “Grace is against earning, not effort” (Dallas Willard). The following time-tested disciplines are the means by which we experience God and grow.

Worship – because without it, we shrink.

Solitude and Sabbath – Because the inner murmur of self-reproach will not be silenced until we hear it as static.

Read/memorize Scripture – because the voice convincing us to become our own moral authority is called “Pride.”

Meditation/Journaling – because we read too much and reflect too little.

Fasting– because we need to become more aware of what we truly desire.

Obedience – because doing what we say we believe helps us become what we long to be.

Generosity – because giving helps us learn how “just a little more” will never satisfy the deep longings of the soul.

Service – because love is more action than attraction.

 

Related

Filed Under: Personal Growth

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Trackbacks

  1. 10 Links for Spiritual Seekers says:
    August 13, 2014 at 7:35 PM

    […] Three Keys to Spiritual Growth […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Who is Behind Faith and Doubt?

Tim FilstonTriplets+1 Dad. Smokies trout stalker. Spandex warrior. Comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
More about Tim.

FacebookLinkedInTwitter

Get updates from Faith and Doubt by email!


Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Main Topics

  • Personal Growth
  • Relationships
  • Leadership
  • News & Culture
  • Tough Questions
  • Great Reads

Latest Tweets

  • How to Die a Little to Live More www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    February 23, 2023 12:39 PM

  • Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. It only dulls them until we start doing this.... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 18, 2022 11:27 AM

  • Turning your past into compost www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 17, 2022 5:15 PM

Facebook

Facebook

RSS Featured Links

  • Why Church Leaders Need to Practice Theological Triage
  • Easter Music Resources and Holy Week Playlist
  • Black Christians, White Christians, and George Washington Carver
  • How to Test Ministry Ideas
  • Chinese Christians Adapt Under New Restrictions

Latest Tweets

  • How to Die a Little to Live More www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    February 23, 2023 12:39 PM

  • Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. It only dulls them until we start doing this.... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 18, 2022 11:27 AM

RSS Leadership tips from Tony Morgan

Recent Posts

  • How to Die a Little to Live More
  • Turning your past into compost
  • How to make peace, not just keep it

all content © 2023 by Tim Filston | Design by Robin Cornett