After reading Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, I understand his
main argument to be that the purpose and goal of discipline in the life of a
believer in Jesus Christ is godliness. d Whitney refers defines godliness “as both
closeness to Christ and conformity to Christ, a conformity that’s both inward and
outward, a growing conformity to both the heart of Christ and the life of Christ.”[1]
In his argument, Whitney referenced 1 Timothy 4:7, which states “But stay away
from worthless stories that are typical of old women. Rather, discipline yourself
for the purpose of godliness.”[2] d Whitney further argues that the ten spiritual
disciplines will help the believer to achieve spiritual maturity and ultimately reach
the goal of godliness while on the other hand, a lack of applying the ten spiritual
disciplines will negatively impact the spiritual growth of the believer. d I agree with
the arguments that Whitney made because these ten spiritual disciplines were
practiced by Jesus Christ Himself. d It is God’s desire for us to be transformed
and be made in the image of Christ. d The only way for believers to live holy, how
Jesus lived, and spiritually mature is to apply the ten spiritual disciplines to their
lives with help from the Holy Spirit. d d Another reason why I agree with Whitney is
because of my experiences in applying or not being consistent in applying the
spiritual disciplines to my life. d I have found in my own life that if I do not apply
these spiritual disciplines to my life, my spiritual growth has suffered and I am
not close to godliness and living like Jesus.
The first spiritual discipline that I need to strengthen is evangelism. d The reason
why I believe that I need to strengthen evangelism is that we are commissioned
by Jesus Himself to fulfill the Great Commission as shown in Matthew 28:19-20. d
I believe that the Great Commission must be at the top of the to-do list of a
Christian. d The Great Commission is not just for pastors and church leaders, it is
for all believers to fulfill. d I would typically go with our evangelism ministry to
evangelize at nursing homes and apartment complexes. d However, since the
pandemic hit, I was not able to go out as much. d Therefore, to strengthen
evangelism, I will plan and execute evangelism outings that will be independent of
the evangelism ministry and outings that my wife and I along with a few friends
will participate in.
The second spiritual discipline that I need to strengthen is fasting. d The reason
why I believe that I need to strengthen fasting is that I do not incorporate it
unless our pastor calls for our congregation to fast. d I did not have a really good
understanding of fasting. d However, after reading the chapter on fasting, I have a
clearer picture of the purpose of fasting. d d Whitney explains that fasting should be
done with a spiritual purpose in mind. d According to Whitney, “before we fast, we
must have a purpose, a biblical, God-centered purpose.”[3] d d Therefore, my plan to
execute fasting into my life is to seek God’s guidance on the purpose of a fast
and then schedule a fast for once a month to start.
The final spiritual discipline that I need to strengthen is Silence and Solitude. d The
reason why I believe that I need to strengthen silence and solitude is that even
though I do have a devotional time with God in the morning, I am not consistent
in carving out time in my schedule for silence and solitude in any other part of
the day. d Sometimes my schedule will not allow me to have the flexibility to
incorporate silence and solitude in my day. d However, I have chosen to change
this because incorporating silence and solitude will allow me to draw closer to
God and seek godliness. d My plan for strengthening the discipline of silence and
solitude in my life is to first plan a time and select a place each day for silence
and solitude other than the morning. d Once I have selected a time and place for
silence and solitude, I will add it to the calendar on my phone and Outlook
calendar as I would any other meeting I would schedule. d The next step of my
plan to incorporate silence and solitude into my life is to prepare a daily schedule
of what I will do during my time of daily silence and solitude. d This schedule will
include moments of reflection, prayer, and journaling. d The final step of my plan
to incorporate silence and solitude is to find a permanent place for silence and
solitude. d This place will most likely be our master bedroom where my wife and I
have set up an altar, a place where we go to God for everything.
[1] Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Revised and
Updated (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2014), 9.
[2] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New
American Standard Bible Version (Anaheim, CA: Foundations Publications, 2001).
[3] Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 217.
