What Motivates Your Spiritual Practices?

Last week, I wrote about the challenge I’ve given myself to pray the liturgy of the hours, albeit with a few adjustments, for the next thirty days. (if you haven’t read that post, you can find it here)

            In those moments of prayer, I’ve repeatedly come back to a couple of questions. Why am I doing this? What am I attempting to gain out of this practice? 

            I think having a spiritual practice routine is important. And a large part of this blog is dedicated to exploring the different facets of Christian spirituality but... 

            I also want to be mindful of what’s underneath that routine. What kind of mindset do I have while going about my day and interacting with God in these different ways?  

            Am I doing them because I desire to spend time with God? Is it because I view them as an obligation? Or am I trying to get something out of God by doing these things? 

            All of this brings to mind the story Jesus tells in Luke 18:10-14 about two different men praying. 

            One man is sure to let everyone know about his piety as he prays. He clearly has a whole spiritual practice routine. And in theory that’s fine…but for him it’s wrapped up in this false sense of gratitude towards God…all because he isn’t like those around him.

            The other is filled with humility as he prays a few words, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.”

            The Greek word tapeinophrosune is translated in Luke 18 as humility. But it can also refer to a virtue that comes from comparing ourselves to the Lord rather than to others. And this comparison is what leads to us living and acting in a way that matches up with our inner beliefs about who God is.

            The first man compares himself to others and finds himself morally superior. After all, there he is going about his spiritual practice routine for all to see. But his words don’t match up with the kind of behavior God asks of us. 

            Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” 

            Humble in this verse comes from the Hebrew word צנַע (tsana). This root word can also mean to keep close or preserve. So again, there’s this idea of humility flowing out of our desire to keep close to God. To compare ourselves to the example set by Christ, not by those around us. 

            Our spiritual practices should be done out of a desire to stay close to God, which leads to humility. But they should also be approached with an attitude of openness and recognition that we still have so much more growing and learning to do. 

            Your spiritual journey is your own. And the way you set up your spiritual practices routine should be unique to you and where you’re at in life. You don’t need to be concerned with what someone else’s routine looks like, because you don’t need to measure yourself against them. 

            Likewise, spending time on spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, or some form of studying scripture doesn’t make you inherently morally superior to the rest of the world.  

            So how do we keep a mindset of openness and humility as we incorporate spiritual practices into our days? 

            For starters, take time every now and then to reflect and ask yourself, “Why am I doing this? What am I hoping to gain out of this practice?”

            Be honest. It’s okay if you find yourself like me and having to say, “Yeah…it’s not just to spend time with God.” Now you know where you’re at and what to be aware of moving forward. 

            Two, take inspiration from the second man in Luke 18. Maybe you can even incorporate his prayer into your spiritual practices in some way, like at the start of your Bible study or the end of your prayer time.

            Maybe every once and a while you say to yourself “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Spirit have mercy on me” throughout your day. 

            Those words help call our attention back to the instructions given in Micah 6:8. We’re not called to judge others for what they do or don’t do or how their spiritual practices look. 

            We’re called to do justice to others and ourselves. How are we treating the people around us? Are our spiritual practices influencing and shaping that positively? 

            We’re called to love mercy. That means showing grace and kindness to the people around us, but also to ourselves. Because none of us are going to get it right every time.

            And we’re called to walk humbly with God. To remain open to whatever it is God wants us to see and learn that day. 

            Praying, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Spirit have mercy,” helps us to maintain an attitude of humility and growth. It keeps us centered and aware that while we do these things to become more like Christ each day, we’re not there yet.

            If you’re looking for inspiration or aren’t sure what spiritual practice you would like to try and add into your days, you can find a whole list of blog posts on different practices here.