When I was in seventh grade, I made the school track team. I enjoyed running, and although it was mostly fueled by the love I had for the concession stand food at the track meets, I was also thrilled at the prospect of belonging to a team. I was looking forward to the team building activities, running the relay races, and delivering the baton to the finish line in first place. Although I never once won first place, and realized very quickly in training that I had a lot of room for improvement, my ambitious thirteen-year-old self was beginning to grasp the concept of the discipline. More and more, the importance of spending time throughout the week working on speed and endurance became clear. The extended time spent training with my entire team was imperative to the way I fashioned my workouts and habits, and I modeled my routines after those who were running the same races as me. Most importantly, the long hours spent running allowed me to confidently compete on those track meet nights.
In the same way that we train our physical bodies to compete in sporting events, burn calories at the gym, or form healthy habits, we as Christians must make an effort to be disciplined in spiritual practices. In his book "The Spirit of the Disciplines", Dallas Willard compares the life of a Christian to an athlete, "A baseball player who expects to excel in the game without the adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian who hopes to be able to act in the manner of Christ when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living."
So how do we engage in the spiritual disciplines in our daily lives? How do we incorporate Godly practices into our routines so that we are prepared to act in the manner of Christ in every circumstance that arises? Perhaps we are newer to the faith or desiring to begin the practice of spiritual disciplines. One of the most excellent tools we have as Christians is the practice of prayer, and Jesus Christ himself models the method for how to communicate with our Heavenly Father. In chapter 6 verses 9-13 of Matthew's Gospel, we witness Jesus command:
"Pray then like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil."
In Wesley Hill's book "The Lord's Prayer," he points out that from the very beginning of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus invites us to address God in the same way that he does, as Father. What a marvelous privilege we are given! The invitation to call upon The Father as Christ does should encourage our hearts and remind us that we are His chosen people. Hill goes on to unpack the rest of Lord's Prayer verse by verse. One of his most insightful observations is that Jesus' language spoken in Matthew includes us in the communion between The Lord and His children, teaching us how to praise and petition our Maker who lets Himself be known.
I have found that in deliberate and diligent times of prayer and meditation on the Word of God, I experience unimaginable peace, liberation, and renewal, especially in times of weariness and anxiousness. What the Lord's Prayer models for Christians in the entire history of the church is that we hallow God's name, not because of any forceful dominance, but instead because of the deliverance He provides when we place our faith in Him. The importance of dedicating our time to bask in the presence of our God and connecting with Him is vital to our Christian walk.
In a time where we need to be wise about the time we allocate toward our daily activities, I plead with every Believer to incorporate intentional times of prayer each and every day. It is a divine treasure to spend time with the Lord in the mornings over a cup of coffee, or gathering the entire family to spend time praying in the evening. It could also look like incorporating a historic mealtime liturgy to recite over Dinner, or allowing a pause in that morning run to catch your breath and walk while going before the Lord in prayer. It might even be helpful to build reminders into your existing routines. During my best friend's childhood, as her mom would drive her to school, they designated a particular street sign at which they would pray every single day when they reached it on their drive. As individuals, as families, and as marriages, our walk with God requires the discipline of daily prayer and time spent reveling in the presence of God as we praise Him and lift up our prayers of petition.
Just like we train our bodies and minds for the rigorous physical activities like sports, may our hearts be trained and transformed by the time we spend in prayer to our Holy God. Let us be fully immersed in communion and communication with our Heavenly Father, through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.