Spiritual Practices

Last fall, I had to list out the spiritual practices, along with means of accountability, which I planned to follow during my time at Wesley as part of Spiritual Formation.   I had blown the assignment off until the very last minute because I did not think it would be hard to do.  "Practices Christians do to strengthen their relationship with Christ? No problem," I thought. I was wrong.  The assignment required much more thought and, well, a late night, to complete.

It has been almost seven months since that assignment and I now find myself looking back through the papers I wrote in the fall and reflecting on where I was then and where I am now in my spiritual growth.  Which practices have been working for me?  Which practices do I need to let go to the wayside (or which practices have I already let go)?

The number one area of growth that I have had in the past year is in my prayer life.  I went from being a casual prayer to today, where prayer is a part of my everyday life: intentionally scheduled throughout the day and then organically as needed.  For the more intentional prayer time I have begun to utilize a Taize prayer book.  The book is broken down into weekly services with prayer, songs, and reflection.

A few other practices which have worked for me are worship and reflection.  I can tell a difference in my mood if we skip a week of worship or if my attention was elsewhere during the service.  Careful reflection on scripture is another method where I feel myself becoming closer to Christ and to the larger Christian community.

What spiritual practices do you use to grow your faith and relationship with Christ?  I would love to hear how others are growing in faith.