October 10 Private Disciplines

In today's lesson, Andy Stanley introduced us to the concept of "private disciplines." Private disciplines include those activities that God expects us to perform in the privacy of our own home or in the confidential pages of our own bank account or in a place where our actions are not advertised for the praise of others.

Andy points out that we trust God for everything that happens from the time we take our last breath. However, such trust is not difficult since we really have no choice. Since we have no control over what happens after we take our last breath, it is relatively easy to say, " I trust you, God to take care of everything after I take my last breath." However, Andy asks who we trust from the present until we take our last breath. Do we trust God explicitly during that time? Since much of our energy during that time is directed toward making a living, earning money, and supporting a lifestyle, Andy suggests that it is not surprising that God expects us to show our trust in Him by giving generously of our physical blessings. However, as the scripture directs, our giving should be done in the privacy and confidentiality of our own home or our own bank account and should not be done in a way that brings attention or recognition to us as the giver. Since time is our most valuable resource, Andy also suggests that the allocation of a daily quiet time with God is also a private discipline for which God will reward His children. If we spend time in prayer, talking with our Heavenly Father and spend time studying His Word, Andy points our the promise of scripture in which Jesus tells us that we will be rewarded for such activity. No, we don't engage in such action to gain a reward. Just the same, Jesus promises that the Lord will reward those who do these things.

We discussed private disciplines and ways that we were or were not taught private disciplines in our own childhood. We also considered ways in which we could encourage our own children to engage in the practice of private disciplines.
Andy Stanley suggests the following things occur as a result of us practicing private disciplines:
* Growth--even if we engage in these activities with a bad activity, we will see growth
* Freedom--we can experience freedom from the debilitating debate of whether or not to give, freedom from the argument of not having enough time, and freedom from prioritization of our activities in order to spend time in the Word--these decisions are already made when we practice private disciplines. They are part of our lifestyle.
* Peace--the practice of private disciplines brings peace into our lives. The private disciplines eventually become a joy to practice rather than an unpleasant task.

Let's all consider our own practice of private disciplines this week and evaluate whether or not we can improve these practices in our own lives. Best wishes for a great week.