Spiritual Disciplines for ParentsSample

Day 4

The heart behind every spiritual discipline isn’t to know more or do more; it’s to be with Jesus and become like Jesus. When we become more like Him, we become the best version of ourselves. We learned yesterday that Jesus prayed regularly, but He didn’t stop there.

The first spiritual discipline Jesus practiced immediately following His baptism was fasting (Matthew 4:2). When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, He referenced only three spiritual disciplines: generosity, prayer, and fasting. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus said, “When you fast… ” Did you catch that? Not “if.” When. Jesus was assuming it was a discipline His followers would practice.

And yet today, we’re more likely to hear about this practice from a health guru doing intermittent fasting than we are to hear about it at church. We’ve watered it down and walked away from it, making it the most overlooked spiritual discipline.

But fasting is strongly connected to power every time we see it referenced in the Bible. And while it’s definitely not a way for us to manipulate God into giving us our desires, it is a way for us to starve our flesh, strengthen our spirit, and pray with our whole body.

When we see fasting talked about in Scripture, it’s directly related to food. However, we can apply the spirit of fasting to abstaining from certain things for a period of time (e.g., social media, Netflix, sugar, etc.). The point is for our spirit to fast from what our flesh is prone to worship and crave.

This isn’t a discipline to be practiced daily, but it’s certainly not one to be ignored. Maybe it’s a 12-hour fast from food once a month to tap into our hunger for God. Or perhaps it’s giving up scrolling on social media for 30 days to devote more time to studying our Bible.

Whether it’s emptying our stomach or opening up space on our calendar, the goal is to carve out time to devote our mind’s attention and heart’s affection toward God. Take time today to think about what you can temporarily give up so you can get more of God.

Reading our Bible, praying, and fasting aren’t signs of spiritual maturity, but tools to be used for spiritual growth. We don’t need to do any of these things to earn God’s love and favor. We’re perfectly loved right where we are. But while we don’t need to earn our Father’s love, following Him requires effort; we can’t forget we’ve got a part to play in our relationship with Him and His plan for us.

Saint Augustine once wrote, “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.”

Becoming the parent you're meant to be isn't about trying harder — it's about trying higher. Let these disciplines train you to draw closer to the One who is ready and waiting to work through you with His power.