Wednesday, March 10
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Spiritual Formation and Control
“Our constant struggle with the issue of control is a crucial part of our spiritual pilgrimage. I don’t mind spiritual formation at all as long as I can be in control of it. As long as I can set the limits on its pace and its direction, I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is getting my control structures out of the way of my spiritual formation and letting God take control. In the final analysis, there is nothing we can do to transform ourselves into persons who love and serve as Jesus did except make ourselves available for God to do that work of transforming grace in our lives.” (M. Robert Mulholland. Invitation to a Journey. Downer's Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993, p. 26.)
How does this quote hit you? When I read it on my former spiritual director's blog, it led me to step back for a moment to examine my life. At times, I've been tempted to think of spiritual formation as a process I'm in charge of, sort of like going to the gym. My effort alone produces the results.
It reminds me of a quote from Dallas Willard that one of my seminary professors was fond of repeating, "The Christian life is what you do when you realize you can do nothing." More significantly, it reminds me of what Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
If there is nothing we can do to grow ourselves spiritually except make ourselve available for God to do the work of transforming us, then what does it look like to make ourselves available to his transforming work vs. trying to grow ourselves in our own power? Thoughts?
- Brian Owen's blog
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Spiritual aspects of life are totally different from the real life. In this context we have to set our limits religiously. So, if we will go across it we are answerable to God on the day of judgment.
I n other words if we analyze that our path is wrong then we should confess with our God. It is a long debate i will throw some light after my preparation of mcitp questions .Because this will be fruitful for my future.
control & availability
Hey Brian -- enjoyed the post. I think Katie is right. Although I'm not sure how we can open ourselves to God while not doing a spiritual discipline. It seems that opening myself necessarily involves prayer. Perhaps what Katie is getting at is abstaining from the formalities of the discipline or the more structured disciplines, like fasting or study. But the minimum activity on my part will always be some kind of prayer, right? (assuming that contemplation is a species of prayer). It might be an extremely simple prayer -- perhaps nothing more than an attitude of surrender or neediness, a primordial "yes" -- but the attitude must be directed in faith toward the person of God, or else it is just another human endeavor. Does this sound right?
I once heard a philosopher ask, "Can I create a work that is not a work of art?" Similarly, I might ask, "Can I perform a spiritual act that is not an act of prayer?" What do you think?
Prayer and Discipline
I think it may be a matter of how you're looking at what prayer is and what a spiritual discipline is. It sounds like from your perspective that the very act of opening to God is an act of prayer and that prayer is, quite simply, a spiritual discipline. Therefore, opening to God is by necessity a spiritual discipline. I think, from one perspective, you're right.
I suspect that what Katie was getting at (and feel free to let me know if I'm stepping on your toes, Katie!) was exactly what you're going for. Sometimes opening to God can be done while not necessarily engaging in a discipline. Why not open to God while you're watching Pixar's "Up" this weekend? (I'm hoping that if I plug their quite excellent movie, eventually they'll just have to pay me. I can dream, can't I?) What would it be like to be open to the Spirit while sitting in the theater? You're not engaging in a specific discipline at the time, but if you consider opening to God to be prayer and prayer to be discipline, then you are engaging in a specific discipline. It's just a matter of how you look at it.
The meaning of prayer can take on a lot of different textures depending on what you're going for. I'd agree that a conscious attitude of surrender to God can be prayer in its broader understanding. Some might argue that it isn't, but they're looking at prayer in a more narrow sense. I think they can both right in their own way, and both senses can be useful for describing things in different situations. Of course, if you broaden the meaning of prayer (or anything else, for that matter) too much, it ends up loosing any meaning it has, but I suspect that's not a huge issue around here.
As to your final question, can you perform a spiritual act that is not an act of prayer, I can't help but wheedle it down to semantics again. What makes a spiritual act? Is a spiritual act something that is consciously engaged in as a spiritual act? Is it any act that has spiritual ramifications or effects? I'm not sure how to interpret the question, though I suspect the rest of my rambling, here, has already probably revealed my take on it anyway.
semantics
Yes, definitions are needed. I don't know what a spiritual act is -- I just made up that term. But it seems that for an act to be spiritual it can't be the case that it is done autonomously (apart from God). This is using 'spiritual' in the best traditional sense, not in the Oprah sense.
Imagine you are watching "Up" and you want to open to God during the movie. You then form the intention to open yourself to God. What sort of content does your intention have? Can it be in the 3rd person? "I'm going to open myself to God now." (Rather than 2nd person "I'm going to open myself to You, now.") Perhaps that isn't really prayer, but it is necessarily followed by prayer. Here's why: opening involves listening to God, and listening to God counts as prayer, doesn't it? If this is right, then it follows that opening cannot be done apart from prayer.
Now, perhaps a mystic would say I'm over-analyzing the whole thing and such details aren't important to work out. He's probably right.
Here's a question: what is a spiritual discipline? Do you think there are ways of praying that don't count as a 'discipline'? I had always thought of prayer as a species of the genus "spiritual disciplines."
Discipline
I'll leave the discipline question alone right now (but it would make a good post for someone), but one verse to keep in mind in all of this is the praying without ceasing. Assuming this isn't mere exaggeration, but a call to a certain orientation of life, are we willing to say it is a discipline, and therefore say that the discipline of praying without ceasing is a never ceasing discipline? In the end it will probably just be semantics, but it seems to be a worthwhile question.
Re:
I love that Willard quote.
I wonder if making ourselves available actually looks very much like "trying to grow ourselves," at least exteriorly. I think it could still involve spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting, silence, meditation on Scripture, etc., but the expectation is different. Instead of thinking, "this'll make me feel pumped," or "this'll fix my spiritual slump or make me want to do this more," or even "this'll bring God near," it's doing the action (however unattractive it may be in the moment), realizing 'I may feel just as blue or blah all throughout and even once I finish. Maybe God will still seem distant when I'm done. But I will make the opportunity to hear from Him if he has something to say.'
I wonder if it can also involve not doing those disciplines sometimes, to realize the truth of who we presently are - i.e. it can kill the false self-image that "I am a good Christian who does my duty, thus God owes me x." Sometimes that lie doesn't die easy, and when we stop doing the external 'duties' we can't escape from the truth as easily and it brings us to grips with the truth of our inability to make our spiritual lives "work."
Just some mulling...