“The command to ‘remain’ or ‘abide’ in Christ portrays a tireless, relentless pursuit of him. It is the spirit of Jacob who cried to the Lord who was wrestling with him “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26). In particular, we need to be diligent in our use of “the means of grace”, to spend time each day seeking Christ through prayer and Bible reading, and to come each Sunday to worship and regularly to the Lord’s Table. It is in these ways that we actively pursue Christ and learn to abide in him. The more disciplined we are in our set times of devotion, the more easy it becomes to live the rest of the time “in Christ”, united to him, enjoying his presence, and drawing on his life and power.”

I find that having a large variety of spiritual “tools” has been helpful for me. There are a few that I continually come back to, but during those times when I’m feeling spiritual/mental/emotional blocks, it is nice to experiment with something different that may or may not shake me out of whatever funk is holding me back.

I was able to be a guest lecturer in an undergrad class in adolescent spiritual formation once and I really appreciated that the course was designed to introduce potential youth ministers to different spiritual practices themselves…instead of simply providing information about how to lead teens in such areas. Tony Jones’ book Soul Shaper contains a great admonition to youth ministers to never attempt implementing something with their teens (no matter how intriguing it may seem) until they themselves have practiced and explored it in detail.

Silence and solitude are consistently powerful for me – particularly when combined with some form of contemplative prayer or meditative scripture reading.

Donald Whitney has written several books on spiritual disciplines (type in his name on Amazon if you’re interested), and while I don’t always agree with his perspective, I appreciate his point that without regular prayer and scripture intake (of some kind) our other disciplines will eventually become hollow and tasteless and ultimately are sub-Christian.

And while on that walk, I talk to God out loud, as if he were physically right beside me.

Those are easily my best times with God.

In addition, notice in the prison letters how often Paul tells his addressees that he is praying for them. They are powerful prayers at that. It was the only connection he had with them while he was in prison and he told them he was praying for them for a specific reason; to strengthen them; and it is a connection that we share with all of the saints around the world – no matter what situation of life we or they are in. Prayer for Paul’s purposes in those letters was not a self-serving action but it is a reflection of making others greater than ourselves. I’m not saying we don’t pray for ourselves; to the contrary we must push everything to God in prayer. Not in a daily “routine” but at every point in the day. Our lives should never be apart from the communication and relationship we share with our Lord in prayer. What enemy can defeat such a weapon?

As to the Creps summary; I have a question about where he went with those thoughts. Such as: If a Christian falls into one of those categories in regards to prayer or the Word of God did he question how sincere their off-road “experience” really would be? How effective are the supplemental actions without the spiritual disciplines of the others? (I haven’t read the book, as you can tell).

In regards to being “off-road”: My greatest off-road experiences are when I’m snowboarding. To get to the top of a mountain, with the snow falling, and to look around at the creation of God with its beauty; it is a feeling I cannot duplicate at any other point on earth. I feel so close to God in those moments – and it makes the ride down extremely joyful. Man… living in Florida now… I miss that so much… (I went to college in New Hampshire!)