Prayer as the Heart of Spiritual Discipline

While many spiritual theologians treat prayer as merely one discipline among others, it is more accurate to recognize prayer as the discipline that governs and unifies them all. Only in this way can spiritual practices move beyond a static intimacy with God and open the path to cooperation with the Spirit’s leading. Practices such as reading, meditation, and solitude should be seen as efforts to orient us toward prayer. Just as Scripture opens into prayer, so these disciplines find their true function within the inward and outward movement of prayer. Fasting, in particular, has long been identified with prayer in the Old Testament tradition, as it brings personal desires under God’s will and expresses confidence that “society will be transformed.” Every spiritual discipline proves effective only when, in partnership with the Spirit, it contributes to the outward renewal of society in truth, goodness, and beauty. Thus, the central theme of all church disciplines is that the more earnest participants are in prayer—the more they long for transformation—the more they may expect the Spirit’s cooperation. The direction of the church’s prayer ministry will be revealed through such people.