In the Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas
Willard discusses two types of spiritual disciplines. The first type of
discipline is one of “engagement,” which involves active involvement in a
practice that can develop our desire for God. The second type of discipline is
one of “abstinence.” This discipline includes all practices that require giving
up some behavior. Most of the time, when we think of spiritual disciplines (if
we think of them at all), the disciplines of engagement come to mind. These
include practices like Bible reading and prayer, as well as less commonly
practiced disciplines like serving the poor and celebration. Disciplines of
abstinence come to mind less often and include such practices as fasting, meditation,
solitude, and frugality.
Clearly, we
need both types of practices. We need to add some things to our life that are
missing, like the influence of Scripture and contact with God through prayer,
but we also often need to take things away from our lives, such as spending
less time online and allowing time for silence. If we never added anything, the
presence of God in our lives would hardly be visible. But, if we never remove
anything, our lives become full of chaos, noise, and busyness. Right now, take
some time to consider what you need, engagement or abstinence, and I want to
challenge you to spend some time this week in a practice that will build you up
in that area.
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