These practices are not an end in themselves. We do not pray or fast or spend time in solitude simply for that experience. Nor do we engage in these practices for the purpose of being able to do more or do better. Spiritual disciplines are not about doing but about being. Jesus reminded us that whatever we are inside will demonstrate itself in what we do. “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit (Matt. 12:33).

All of the practices we engage in are for the purpose of forming us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). They are exercises that help us to discover our bad motives, hidden anger, and self-seeking attitudes. Once exposed, all of these nasty things that are inside of us (which we have suppressed in our busyness) can now be given to God. We can confess and repent of them. These exercises help us to get empty so that God’s Spirit has room to work.

Some of these exercises are done alone, and some must be done with others. As demonstrated by Jesus, there is a time to be alone with God (Lk. 5:16). However, there is also a time to be formed in the company of others. There is a reason that we have this thing called “church”. The church is simply a collection of people engaged in the practice of collectively becoming the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). The notion of someone being a Christian by themselves is an unknown phenomenon in the Bible. We are reminded that the apostle Paul said that Jesus gave himself up for the church (Eph. 5:25).

Finally, we must remember that these practices are not for ourselves alone, but also for others. The most famous Christians ascetic, St. Antony, practiced spiritual disciplines for the church, not simply for his own well being. In this he was imitating Christ. Jesus did not go off by himself to pray just so he could be the person God wanted him to be (although that was certainly a part of it). He did it so that he would have a deep well that others could draw from.

This post is part of a series on Spiritual Formation. To begin reading the first post go here.

Those who have learned to play a musical instrument know this to be true. If you want to be good at the guitar, you must spend hours going over the fundamentals of finger placement. Mandolin player Sierra Hull recounts the struggles that she went through as a child thinking that she would never learn to play four fingered G chords. But now, she says, those come naturally. In fact, what she says is “I can do it now, but I almost don’t even choose to”. – See the interview with Sarah here.

She has practiced the four finger G chord so much that her fingers move there without her even having to think about it. It’s muscle memory. It is muscle memory that has come through multiple repetitions of putting her fingers in a particular place. At first it was difficult to stretch them that way. Her fingers didn’t naturally go that way. And no doubt she had to look to see where to place her fingers. But slowly, given enough time and practice, her fingers naturally go there. It is as though it is their default mode.

The application to spiritual formation is, I hope, obvious. If we are to move out of the default mode of the self and into the default mode of the image of Christ, much practice is needed. For those who are just beginning, it will seem odd and very discouraging. This is because they are beginning to have their lives shaped into ways that they don’t naturally go. It takes much attention to the fundamentals of the faith.

Those who have been walking this path for a while no longer struggle with some of those fundamentals. They have a different challenge entirely. Theirs is the challenge of any musician. There is a difference between learning to play an instrument and learning to play it well. Those who learn to play it well are never satisfied with learning a few chords and playing a few songs. They want to excel.

Those of us who have been following Christ for a while are sometimes content with simply learning a few chords and playing a few songs. We adhere to some fundamental doctrines of the faith, engage in whatever rituals we have been taught, hold to some basic moral ideas, and show up for worship services. In other words, we are piano players content to play Chopsticks when our exemplar is to play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #5.

But for those who recognize that the goal is to imitate Christ, Chopsticks will simply not do. And so they practice. They practice the spiritual disciplines that help them to develop a new default mode. They practice prayer and silence and solitude. They practice self-denial and humility and patience. They “Practice! Practice! Practice!” And after a while, when someone asks how they can do what they do, they reply “I almost don’t choose to”.