https://podcast.preppedforseminary.com/spiritual-disciplines/

Training to Attend: Why Spiritual Disciplines Aren’t About Earning but About Attuning

We don’t practice spiritual disciplines to gain applause, fast to prove our commitment, or pray just to feel better. The disciplines aren’t our currency for God’s approval. They’re our training ground for recognizing His presence.

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives His disciples a powerful warning. It’s possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Whether giving, praying, or fasting, He reminds them—and us—that when our disciplines are more about performance than presence, we lose the very reward we’re meant to gain: God Himself.

This isn’t just about how we do the disciplines but why we do them.

Spiritual Disciplines Can Be Distorted

Generosity becomes reputation management. Prayer becomes a way to feel productive. Fasting becomes a badge of piety. In a culture that rewards platform and performance, even sacred practices can become self-improvement hacks.

But Jesus reorients us. He says, in effect, “When you give, don’t give to be seen. Don’t stack up eloquent phrases when you pray as if your Father needs convincing. And when you fast, don’t wear your hunger on your sleeve.”

Why? Because spiritual disciplines aren’t performative. They’re formative. They shape us. They quiet us. They train us to notice God.

Spiritual Disciplines Are Reps—Not Rituals

I once sparred in a boxing ring, thinking I was ready because I had trained on the heavy bag. I wasn’t. The rhythm was different, and the movement was unpredictable. And I realized something crucial: all my practice was preparation, not participation.

That’s what spiritual disciplines are like. They’re how we get in spiritual shape—not so that we can talk about God but so we can move with Him. They sharpen our instincts. They help us respond in real time. They don’t earn us anything, but they equip us to attend to the presence of God in real situations.

Bible reading. Prayer. Sabbath. Journaling. Solitude. These are our reps.

Don’t Complicate What God Meant to Be a Grace

You don’t need an hour and a half a day to begin. Start small. Jot down a verse on a notecard and reflect on it between tasks. Pray as you write. Choose disciplines that lean into your strengths while gently stretching your limits.

I’m a writer, so my entry point into prayer was writing my prayers. It helped me stay focused and honest. For you, it might be silence. Or it might be walking while reciting Scripture. The goal isn’t rigid obedience. It’s consistent attention.

If you’re new to a discipline, don’t overestimate what you can do in a day—focus on what you can repeat tomorrow.

The Real Aim: Attending to God’s Presence

The disciplines aren’t about checking spiritual boxes or coping with stress (though peace is often a byproduct). They are about cultivating loyalty to God, a kind of alertness to His movement, a way of living that says, “God is infinitely more relevant than anything else I could respond to right now.”

Whether we feel it in the moment or not, the reps matter.

Reflection Questions

• What spiritual discipline is God inviting me into—not to master, but to practice?
  
• Am I doing this discipline for God’s glory or for my own sense of accomplishment?
  
• In what moments of my day do I tend to forget God is present? How could a small habit (a verse, a breath, a pause) re-center me?
  
• What would it be like to start small this week rather than wait for the “perfect” plan?
  

This Week’s Encouragement:

Start with one small, faithful step. Let it be awkward. Let it be imperfect. But let it be real.

You’re not performing for God. You’re being formed by Him.You don’t have to earn God’s presence—you just have to learn how to notice it.