Practicing and experiencing spiritual discipline of 'Rest and Silence', is a life-long commitment

“Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is always the agony of choice before the promise of change.” ~ Larry Lea

“God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.” ~ Billy Graham

“We must try to keep the mind in tranquility. For just as the eye which constantly shifts its gaze, now turning to the right or to the left, now incessantly peering up or down, cannot see distinctly what lies before it, but


the sight must be fixed firmly on the object in view if one would make his vision of it clear; so too man's mind when distracted by his countless worldly cares cannot focus itself distinctly on the truth." ~ Author unknown

" ‘The spiritual disciplines’, sounds like a phrase for another era of history. Whenever a book is written or a sermon is preached on the subject, people wonder if it is a subject only for ancient saints or a group of monks cloistered away in a mountain retreat. The spiritual disciplines, however, play a significant role in our spiritual development. They represent practices of our faith that give us the opportunity to interact with the Divine Source. If yours is like most religious families, you pray together before meals. Maybe only on Sundays, or only at dinner, or only when guests are in town, but most of you pray either on occasion or regularly because it’s simply what one is supposed to do. Additionally, if you've been to a church, mosque or a temple, you probably also know that you’re supposed to be reading your scriptures more than you currently are.

'Spiritual Disciplines', - - - the phrase alone is misunderstood by many of us! For most of us, the word discipline has been reduced to a mere implication of punishment upon ourselves. And even those who have retained its more nuanced meaning continue to hold a negative association when thinking about the word, like…. “It takes discipline to go to the gym”, or “to keep one’s house clean”, or “to keep up with work”.

Disciplines are nearly always means to an end. No one wants to discipline their kid just because it’s something fun to do and most people don’t go to the gym for laughs. We engage in discipline or disciplines because they are good for us. Most of us have come to accept that a successful life requires a certain amount of discipline and forbearance; and so we carry on, at work, at school, at home, and yes, at the gym. As rational human beings, it should make sense that there are certain disciplines in which we must engage in order to keep our spiritual lives in good health. Praying before meals is a tradition passed down to most of us through generations. As a practice, it is a small remnant of the many daily prayers taught to us as a means to help them engage their faith within their homes. Similarly, we have been instructed to read the scriptures on our own since we became a little mature mentally.

But you know all of this. You know you should pray more and read your scriptures more, and you want to model these acts of faithfulness to your faith to your children also. You are right to want these things; and should always endeavor to do better, to be a little more faithful. But honestly, these aren't the spiritual disciplines I want to write about. I do not want to write about them because you don’t need someone telling you to do more that you are really doing. Instead, the two spiritual disciplines I’d rather encourage you in, if I may be so bold, are the disciplines of “rest and of silence”. If I were to pick two spiritual disciplines that should be modeled for and encouraged in ourselves, it would be these, for the disciplines of “rest and of silence” give life to all other disciplines.

What if, for one evening a week, yes only for one evening, you kept your home quiet? No TV, no shouting down the stairs, no computer binging and keyboard-clacking, no phones buzzing, no stereos blaring. What if, for one day a week or one Sunday afternoon, you actually rested? You sat on the porch; you went out to lunch; you talked with each other and threw a ball for the dog. These are spiritual disciplines not only at their most gentle, but also at their most effective - these disciplines meet us in the precise location of our real needs. But more importantly, nearly all of us need more quiet and more rest than we usually get. Not the usual rest and silence that you get when you get the privilege of a sound sleep every night after the day’s grind. As parents, you knew that your toddlers would exhaust themselves if left to their own devices. Because of this knowledge, you enforced the discipline of naps in their lives. As adults, we are actually not that different from toddlers, when left to our own devices. In fact it is that we have just become, a little more tolerant of being tired and a bit better at keeping our exhaustion under wraps.

But maturity and holiness don’t have to come alongside of, or through, exhaustion; in fact, exhaustion might just be their enemy. It is quite possible that, after an evening of quiet, or a Sunday afternoon of genuine rest, you would find yourself with the energy to read your scriptures, and the heart to pray sincerely. These disciplines are necessary so that you can hear the God, that speaks in the soft breezes that wafts around you. This is, after all, the reason for any spiritual discipline in the first place. To us mature beings, it has been a bit like exploring the attic of an old house and coming across a huge trunk, loaded with priceless treasures making our present life more meaningful. We realize that practicing and experiencing spiritual discipline of 'Rest and Silence', is a life-long commitment, and we all need to recommit ourselves to it on a regular basis.

Remember my dear friends; when you are at it, so much can be gained by living a life of spiritual discipline. It liberates you from fear, hate, greed and self-interest and shows you the way into real joyful love while reasoning your purpose in this life. Also, it guides the way for you to become a more mature and spiritual being; as you realize ultimately that you live in grace and by grace alone. The truth is, that you grow spiritually because the Spirit lives inside you. You won’t really understand how growth or transformation happens, but you will definitely see some results, though most of the time it happens so gradually you can only see it looking backward over time. You can only become spiritual if these two spiritual disciplines of “rest and silence”, are best exercised thoroughly and lived out in the midst of your ordinary, busy lives, filled with job, family, relationship and other obligation, when these spiritual disciplines of your life will move you all further and further away from surface living into the true depths of God’s heart and bring harmony into your life!” ~ Anthony Sunny Kunneth