Devotional Life
Spirituality
The Four Needs
Disciplines of a devotional life are named by Richard Foster: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. [Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers), 1978] These disciplines, though practiced for centuries, are not common nowadays. They make excellent subjects for instruction because they don’t come naturally.
Congregations can encourage members’ devotional lives by supplying resources and an open door for people to stop in and pray or meditate. This open-door policy is not as typical as it once was because of the concern for security. Churches with open doors may be too inviting to thieves. Some congregations have members watch at the doors during stated rimes so that others can pray in safety.
Congregations can supply members with daily devotional readings, Christian books, magazines, and videos. Some congregations loan their collection of Christian music. Purchasing and publicizing these resources helps keep the Bible fresh and Scripture reading focused.
Christian radio or television broadcasts are devotionally uplifting for some. Others may keep a journal to sharpen their focus and conscious contact with God. The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence [Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, Robert J. Edmonson, trans. (Orleans, MA: Paraclete Press), 1985] is a classic resource for improving a daily awareness of God.
A congregation can nurture the devotional life of its members by holding workshops on ways to engage in devotions. Many Christian congregations have used Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline, as a curriculum to help members. Information on other resources and where to get them could also be provided. For example, church newsletters can include book reviews of devotional guides. Individuals could write meditations for the newsletter to encourage others to discover the rewards of an intimate relationship with God.
