The Disciplined Life

The Invitation to Observe a Holy Lent is among other things an invitation to embrace the disciplined life.  We hear this as we read,  "I invite you, in the name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; and by reading and meditating on the Word of God."  Of course, this list of spiritual disciplines is not an exhaustive one, but one that points us toward some of the things which can nurture our faith and connect us more deeply to God.  Some spiritual disciplines are very obvious to us.  Others are hidden in plain sight.

 

For example, cannot hearing be considered a spiritual discipline?  The Word of God is full of stories of men and women who heard God speaking to them.  People like Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Mary, and Paul immediately come to mind.  Even though we read their story and believe it to be true, there lingers in our own spirit a very real doubt about God speaking to us.  Maybe His voice was heard by some of the ancient ones who walked across the stage of Biblical history, but it does not happen in this day and age to folks like you and me. 

 

Such thinking leads to the question, "Why Not?"  Could it be that we have lost the ability to hear the voice of God?  Or, could it be that when we hear it, we fail to recognize it for what it is?  Is it possible that we have settled for less than God intends?  Hearing is not always easy in these days when there is so much noise and so many voices vying for our listening energy.  Anyone who has intentionally settled into a quiet space may begin to hear things that have been impossible to hear when life is raging loudly around them.  Maybe God has not grown silent.  Maybe we are not quiet enough to hear.