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. f 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] f 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] f 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. f I agree with the arguments that Whitney made because these ten
spiritual disciplines were practiced by Jesus Christ Himself. f It is God’s desire for
us to be transformed and be made in the image of Christ. f 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. f 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. f 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. f 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. f
I believe that the Great Commission must be at the top of the to-do list of a
Christian. f The Great Commission is not just for pastors and church leaders, it is
for all believers to fulfill. f I would typically go with our evangelism ministry to
evangelize at nursing homes and apartment complexes. f However, since the
pandemic hit, I was not able to go out as much. f 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. f 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. f I did not have a really good
understanding of fasting. f However, after reading the chapter on fasting, I have a
clearer picture of the purpose of fasting. f f Whitney explains that fasting should be
done with a spiritual purpose in mind. f According to Whitney, “before we fast, we
must have a purpose, a biblical, God-centered purpose.”[3] f f 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. f 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. f f Sometimes my schedule will not allow me to have the flexibility to
incorporate silence and solitude in my day. f However, I have chosen to change
this because incorporating silence and solitude will allow me to draw closer to
God and seek godliness. f 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. f 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. f 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. f This schedule will
include moments of reflection, prayer, and journaling. f The final step of my plan
to incorporate silence and solitude is to find a permanent place for silence and
solitude. f 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.
