10 Spiritual Disciplines To Become More Like Jesus

By Bill Gaultiere

You long to be more like Jesus in your life, family, and calling as a missionary.

But maybe the question that sometimes feels overwhelming to all of us hangs over your head… How do I actually become more like Christ?

All of us encounter areas of our hearts and lives that feel impossibleto change. The good news is that transformation doesn’t happen by trying harder.

The Holy Spirit is the leader of your formation in Christlikeness. You can, however, partner with him by training (not trying) through the spiritual disciplines (1 Timothy 4:7). The purpose of this training is to connect you with a power much greater than your own — the Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead! (Romans 8:11).

Below is a list of spiritual disciplines to help you get started training with Jesus. You might consider asking the Holy Spirit to draw you to the ones that would be the most fruitful for you in this season.

Disciplines of Abstinence

These are ways of denying yourself something you want or need to cultivate a hunger for Jesus and make space for him.

Solitude: Removing yourself from interaction with others to get alone with Jesus and be found by him.

Silence: Finding a quiet place and not speaking to settle your mind and attune to Jesus’ presence and voice. This can also look like refraining from responding quickly when listening to others to honor their experience and emotions.

Fasting: Going without food (or something else like media) to depend on Jesus for comfort and strength.

Sabbath: Setting aside work to rest in Jesus’ presence and provision — choosing to pray and play with him and others over productivity.

Secrecy: Intentionally not announcing your good deeds and letting others receive affirmation as you find your sufficiency in Christ alone.

Disciplines of Engagement

These are ways of connecting with Jesus and others to receive and share his love more deeply.

Scripture Meditation: Trusting the Spirit-inspired words of Scripture and inviting God to use them to speak to you and shape your heart. Practices like Lectio Divina or Breath Prayers help God’s Word get deep in your heart.

Worship: Adoring Abba’s goodness and beauty in music, words, ritual, or silence. This can be done in community or privately.

Prayer: Conversing with the Risen Christ about your heart, journey, relationships, and ministry. Prayer is a relational way to partner with Jesus as you love God and bless others.

Soul Friendship: Engaging relationships with loving friends where the emphasis is prayerful conversation or spiritual practices.

Reflection: Paying attention to your inner self to grow in love for God, self, and others. The Psalms model how to do this prayerfully with the Spirit’s help.

This list certainly does not include all the spiritual disciplines. But it is a helpful starting place.

These disciplines position you to draw from grace to slowly become more like Jesus in your heart and organically express his love to God and others.

So, do you desire to grow in the grace of King Jesus through the disciplines? Here are a few steps you can take:

My wife Kristi and I created the Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith Bundle to help you discover and practice the spiritual disciplines that are most formative for your unique personality type.

You can also come on retreat to practice the spiritual disciplines in community. You’ll experience guided times of solitude, silence, scripture meditation, and soul friendship designed to take you deeper into spiritual formation and soul care.

This article is submitted by Soul Shepherding. Soul Shepherding is a Missio Nexus member.  Member organizations can provide content to the Missio Nexus website. See how by clicking here.