The New year would be here in a couple of days and most Christians consider it as time for taking resolutions regarding spiritual disciplines in their personal devotion to the Lord. Jay. M Nair has written a timely article on these daily disciplines with the aim of helping “Christians know and practice essential and daily disciplines involved in one’s personal communion with the Lord over His Word.” He explains briefly the need of these spiritual disciplines in our lives and then considers each of these four disciplines to be done on a daily basis. They are – prayer, reading, meditation and memorization. In each case, he offers some helpful resources and suggestions. May this article birth a sincere desire and commitment in Christians to be disciplined in our personal communion with the Lord.
The article can be read here.
Below is the outline of this article :
Daily Disciplines
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Introduction
-the aim of this document
-the organization of the document
Why Spiritual Disciplines?
-The nature of authentic Christian growth
-How this growth happens
-Spiritual disciplines as means of grace
1. Prayer
- two aspects of prayer
- prayer and the word
- John Piper's I.O.U.S model
- George Mueller's testimony
- D.A Carson on praying through Scriptures
2. Bible Reading
-The necessity of a reading plan in personal communion
-Consideration of popular plans
-The ill-effects of a lack of reading on Evangelicalism
-Suggestions for the head of a family and for a pastor
3. Meditation
-The primacy of meditation among all disciplines
-The Biblical evidence for the practice of this discipline
- Martin Luther's understanding of meditation
- How Christian meditation is different from other religious meditations
- Essential elements of the Evangelical method of doing meditations
i. Reading and rereading to know the meaning of the text
ii. Asking Questions to know the implications of the text
* Joseph Hall's considerations
* Don Whitney's Philippians 4:8 questions
iii. Making personal applications of the text
* Theological applications
* Practical applications
iv. Ruminating upon the text throughout the day
4. Memorization
-The distinct yet inseparable nature of meditation and memorization
-The Biblical evidence of this relationship between meditation and memorization
-Other benefits of memorization
-Practical considerations for practicing this discipline
Conclusion
-Summary
-The primacy and centrality of the Word of God in all disciplines
-A warning to Evangelicals and the cry of the Reformers - Sola Scriptura.
Footnotes
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