Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

Opening lines: "Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."

The disciplines are focused on our inner life, though they have an outward expression: "The Spiritual Disciplines are an inward and spiritual reality, and the inner attitude of the heart is far more crucial than the mechanics for coming into the reality of the spiritual life."

The disciplines are,

The primary requirement for a disciple is a longing after God.

There are not enough guides available for exploring the inner life, nor models for us to follow.

We cannot combat our ingrained habits and sin (the "weight and sin which clings so closely" that we are instructed to "lay aside" in Hebrews 12) by a force of our will. By focusing on our outward behavior, we either fail consistently, or become Pharisees, for whom the outside of the cup is clean but the inside is dirty. Eventually, our inner lack will be revealed.

"As long as we think we can save ourselves by our own will power, we will only make the evil in us stronger than ever." -Heini Arnold

A new realization: inner righteousness is a gift from God to be graciously received. It is God's work, not ours. Righteousness is unattained and unattainable through human effort. However, God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform and bless us.

Disciplines are "the path of disciplined grace." They are both work and free gift. As Bonhoeffer says, "grace is free, but it is not cheap." We must pay the price of a consciously chosen course of action which involves both individual and group life.

The "path of disciplined grace" is like a narrow ridge with a drop-off on either side. On one side is the chasm of moral bankruptcy through human strivings to righteousness. On the other is the chasm of moral bankruptcy through the absence of human strivings. Walking the path leads to inner transformation and healing. The path does not produce the change; it only places us where it can occur.

As we walk, we see the inner change. We no longer have to work hard at being good and kind; we are good and kind.

However, law-bound Disciplines breathe death. We must avoid a focus on external righteousness. As we practice, there will always be danger of turning our particular form of discipline into laws.

Let us make "every effort" to attempt the inner transformation as it says in 2 Peter 1:9.

The chapters are in a particular order for a reason:

The Inward Disciplines

The Outward Disciplines

The Corporate Disciplines

Explanation of how the disciplines relate:

"Meditation heightens our spiritual sensitivity which, in turn, leads us into prayer. Very soon we discover that prayer involves fasting as an accompanying means. Informed by these three Disciplines, we can effectively move into study which gives us discernment about ourselves and the world in which we live.

Through simplicity we live with others in integrity. Solitude allows us to be genuinely present to people when we are with them. Through submission we live with others without manipulation, and through service we are a blessing to them.

Confession frees us from ourselves and releases us to worship. Worship opens the door to guidance. All the Disciplines freely exercised bring forth the doxology of celebration."

"inner world of recreating silences"

Definition: "Christian meditation is the ability to hear God's voice and obey his word. It is that simple."

Meditation helps us to escape from busyness.

Biblically, meditation is what is discussed much in the OT and NT, and it means different things: listening to God's word, reflecting on God's works, rehearsing God's deeds, ruminating on God's law. and more. Moreover, there is a stress upon changed behavior as a result of our encounter with the living God.

Jesus has not stopped acting and speaking. He is resurrected and at work in our world. He is not idle.

The purpose of meditation is to "grow in a familiar friendship with Jesus." In meditation "we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in our heart." The aim is to then bring this reality into all of life.

This inward fellowship transforms the inner personality. We cannot burn the eternal flame of the inner sanctuary and remain the same, for the Divine Fire will consume everything that is impure. Everything that is foreign to the way of our teacher we will have to let go. No, not "have to" but "want to", for our desires and aspirations will be more and more conformed to his way. Increasingly, everything will swing like a needle to the polestar of the Spirit.

"Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind."

"Meditation is the one thing that can sufficiently redirect our lives so that we can deal with human life successfully."

"Meditation has no point and no reality unless it is firmly rooted in life." -Thomas Merton

Often meditation will yield insights that are deeply practical, almost mundate. Meditation sends us into our ordinary world with greater perspective and balance.

"meditation is communication between the Lover and the beloved."

"Let's take an experiential attitude toward spiritual realities. Like an other scientific endeavor, we form a hypothesis and experiment with it to see if it is true or not. If our first experiment fails, we do not despair or label the whole business fraudulent. We reexamine our procedure, perhaps adjust our hypothesis, and try again. We should at least have the honesty to perservere in the work to the same degree we would in any field of science. The face that so many are unwilling to do so betrays not their intelligence but their prejudice."

For some reason, as humans, we don't have a natural desire to enter into God's presence. We see this throughout the Bible. But meditation is just that- an invitation "to enter into the presence of God for ourselves." We need to pray for the desire to meditate and receiving it is a gift of grace. Seeking and receiving that "gift of grace" is the only thing that will keep us moving forward on the inward journey.

Use your imagination: "We can descend with the mind into the heart most easily through the imagination." Learn to picture Christ within you. Of course, the imagination can be manipulated, so we must be "thrown into utter dependence upon God in these matters. We are seeking to think God's thoughts after him, to delight in his presence, to desire his truth and his way."

Learn by Doing: We learn to meditate by meditating.

Time: Set apart a time - "beginners and experts alike must give some part of each day to formal meditation."

However, our whole day is important as preparation for the time of meditation. If we are busy all day, angry, and fragmented, we will find it difficult to meditate. We must cultivate a "holy leisure" about our lives.

Place: "Find a place that is quiet and free from interruption. No telephone should be nearby."

Posture: "Find a position that is comfortable and the least distracting. Place the hands on the knees, palms up in a gesture of receptivity."

Goal: "the aim is to center the attention of the body, the emotions, the mind and the spirit upon 'the glory of God in the face of Christ' (2 Cor. 4:6)."

Meditation Scripturarum

"meditation on scripture is the central reference point by which all other forms of meditation are kept in proper perspective."

Focus on:

Bonhoeffer recommends spending a whole week on a single text.

"Take a single event, or a parable, or a few verses, or even a single word and allow it to take root in you."

"Our task is not so much to study the passage as it is to be initiated into the reality of which the passage speaks."

"Always remember that we enter the story not as passive observers, but as active participants. Also remember that Christ is truly with us to teach us, heal us, to forgive us."

Re-Collection or "Centering Down"

"…a time to become still, to enter into the recreating silence, to allow the fragmentation of our minds to become centered."

Palms Down, Palms Up

Meditation Upon Creation

"this is no infantile pantheism, but a majestic monotheism in which the Creator of the universe shows us something of his glory through his creation."

Give your attention to the created order. Look at the trees, really look at them. Take a flower and allow its beauty and symmetry to sink deep into your heart and mind. Listen to the birds… these are humble acts, to be sure, but sometimes God reaches us profoundly in these simple ways if we will quiet ourselves to listen.

Meditation Upon Current Events

"to meditate upon the events of our time and to seek to perceive their significance."

We have a spiritual obligation to penetrate the inner meaning of events, not to gain power but to gain prophetic perspective. We would do well to hold the events of our time before God and ask for prophetic insight to determine where these things lead and ask for guidance for anything we should personally be doing to be salt and light in our decaying and dark world.

"You must not be discouraged if in the beginning your meditations have little meaning to you. Thre is a progression in the spiritual life, and it is wise to have some experience with lesser peaks before trying to tackle the Mt. Everest of the soul. So be patient with yourself."

"Meditation is not a single act, nor can it be completed the way one completes the building of a chair. It is a way of life."

"The discipline of prayer brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit."

To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer. When we pray, God slowly and graciously reveals to us our evasive actions and sets us free.

To pray "rightly" (James 4:3) involves transformed passions. In real prayer, we begin to think God's thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills.

All who have walked with God have viewed prayer as the main business of their lives. "I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer." - Martin Luther

"For those explorers of the frontiers of faith, prayer was no little habit tacked onto the periphery of their lives; it was their lives. …the most serious work of their productive years…"

Adorinam Judson withdrew from business and company seven times a day to pray - dawn, nine, twelve, three, six, nine, and midnight giving time to secrete prayer.

"…to breathe was to pray…"

Do not be discouraged, for God always meets us where we are and slowly moves us along into deeper things.

Prayer does make an objective difference. A closed universe is not consistent with the Bible. Many people who emphasize acquiescence and resignation to the way things are as "the will of God" are closer to Stoicism than Christ. Moses prayed boldly because he believed his prayers could change things, even God's mind.

This is scary and exciting - we are working with God to determine the future. Certain things will happen if we pray rightly. We are to change the world by prayer.

Real prayer is something we learn.

Jesus nor the apostles ever concluded by saying "If it be thy will." The obviously believed that they knew what the will of God was before they prayed the prayer of faith. They were so immersed in the Holy Spirit that when they encountered a specific situation, they knew what should be done. Their prayer was direct, like a command. No room for indecisive, tentative, half-hoping, "if it be they will" prayers.

Prayer should be experimental. Every seeming failure leads to a new learning process. Christ is our present teacher and his words will be confirmed in our experience.

"Prayer is to religion what original research is to science" - P. T. Forsythe

On Prayer as an Experiment - "We can determine if we are praying correctly if the requests come to pass. If not, we look for the "block"; perhaps we are praying wrongly, perhaps something within us needs changing, perhaps there are new principles of prayer to be learned, perhaps patience and persistence are needed. We listen, make the necessary adjustments, and try again. We can know that our prayers are being answered just a surely as we can know that the telivision set is working."

"One of the most critical aspects in learning to pray for others is to get in contact with God so that his life and power can flow through us into others."

On Listening - Before praying, listen to God. Listening to the Lord is the first thing, the second thing, and the third thing necessary for successful intervention. The work of intercession, sometimes called the prayer of faith, presupposes that the prayer of guidance is perpetually ascending to the Father. We must hear, know and obey the will of God before we pray it into the lives of others.

On Discerning Intercession - The inner sense of compassion is one of the clearest indicators from the Lord that this is a prayer project for you. This inner "yes" is the divine authozation for you to pray for the person or situation. If the idea of prayer is accompanied with a sense of dread, then probably you should set it aside. God will lead someone else to pray for the matter.

Never make prayer too complicated. Pray as a child coming before a loving parent. Pray openly, honestly and trusting that God will provide. Use your imagination. "Imagination often opens the door to faith."

Never wait until you feel like praying before we pray for others. Prayer is like any other work; we may not feel like working, but once we have been at it for a bit, we begin to feel like working.

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