Growing Closer to God

By what means do we grow close to God and become more like Jesus? What set of personal and corporate spiritual disciplines further our spiritual formation?

In his classic book, The Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster describes three categories of disciplines:

Inward – meditation, prayer, fasting and study

Outward – simplicity, solitude, submission and service

Corporate – confession, worship, guidance and celebration

Dallas Willard, a frequent InterVarsity speaker, organizes the disciplines in a slightly different manner. In his work, The Spirit of the Disciplines, he articulates two groupings:

Abstinence – solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy and sacrifice

Engagement – study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession and submission

Whatever list characterizes our particular journeys, the message is that spiritual maturity does not simply happen to us. To grow in intimacy with God and to develop Christ-like qualities requires our active participation. Our role in this divine-human dance is to place ourselves – with intentionality and regularity – in the loving arms of our Lord. He has promised to do the rest.

Read Alec’s reflection in full here.