Spiritual Growth Plan Research Paper

In developing a spiritual growth plan for my life, and developing a plan for the coming three weeks, I enter this assignment in meditative prayer, seeking God’s help in selecting a discipline that is not as strong and consistent as it should be. While there are a number of disciplines that I could select for this assignment, in my heart, and what I believe God is pointing me to, is fasting. I recognize the importance that fasting has in my spiritual journey, and should be approach in a very serious manner. Whitney wrote, “No Christian should ignore fasting’s benefits in the disciplined pursuit of a Christlike life.” I have fasted on occasion for obtaining clarity from God, and on some of those occasions, I actually received clarity from God. Then there were other times in which I fasted, and didn’t have a feeling of connection with God, and upon assessing, it turns out that my approach was not right, and oftentimes, I didn’t remain committed to the fasting plan. In reading Whitney’s book, I believe I see why at times my fasting didn’t wasn’t helpful, as I can relate to him writing, “Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience about willpower, and endurance.”
Over the …show more content…
I read something very powerful in Rankin’s book on Spiritual Warfare, and found it fitting as it relates to having a battle plan, and developing strategies to defend the knowing temptation in my life, and those that are on the way. Rankin wrote, “I’ve come to the conclusion that there is only one solution that guarantees success in maintaining a holy lifestyle that brings glory to God. It is to have such a desperation and heart for God that we can never take that first step in allowing our minds to nurture a temptation or a lustful thought that would divert us from the holiness and purity to which God calls us.” As I read this section of the book, I wrote in the margin – “Get to this