By Ruth
Someone sent me a Chinese article from a Christian talk show host (Liu San ancient stories) in Taiwan about spiritual practice. The original text is quite long, and the following is an excerpt.
What exactly is “a spiritual practice?”
Does praying for an hour a day count? Does copying the Bible every day count? Does reading a passage from the Bible count? Is worship considered a spiritual practice? Is entering a monastery as a priest part of spiritual exercises? Does attending a Christian conference count?
Christians may have different ideas about spiritual exercises. It is because the Bible does not provide a standard SOP about it.
Reading the Bible may just be a way to study theology. Prayers may be for the purpose of finding something to lean on. Worship may be for entertaining. Christian conferences may turn out to be social gatherings. Even working full-time as a pastor may be just one way to draw attention and make a living.
From the Old Testament, we learn that David played the lyre while shepherding the sheep in the field. In this way, he not only dared to challenge Goliath but also could exorcise demons.
Daniel apparently faced the temple three times a day to pray, which was his spiritual practice.
The Bible doesn’t offer any clue about the spiritual exercises of other spiritual giants, such as Moses, Elijah, and several prophets.
In the New Testament, Peter’s prayer on the roof was obviously influenced by Jesus, because Jesus often retreated to the mountains and the wilderness to get close to God.
All these methods are very good, but the effect varies from person to person.
If you do different spiritual exercises, but cannot bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life, what you do is frustrating and in vain. We’ve all faced this challenge, right?
Spiritual practice, what a big subject!
The article is well written, but I feel the need to clarify something. To me, any form of spiritual practice is for the purpose of deepening my relationship with God. In the last church where my husband and I served, some brothers and sisters from mainland China like to say, “It doesn’t matter if there’s a relationship. It matters greatly if there’s no good relationship.” If you have a close relationship with God, it doesn’t matter what method you use for your spiritual practice. Having a good relationship with God naturally produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit in life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
