Prayer Calendar

Living the Empowered Life

by Lisa Hall, international prayer coordinator for TWR Women of Hope

“The secret of the easy yoke, then, is to learn from Christ how to live our total lives, how to invest all our time and our energies of mind and body as he did. We must learn how to follow his preparations, the disciplines for life in God’s rule that enabled him to receive his Father’s constant and effective support while doing his will.”   Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives.

I think we all struggle with how to realistically live in a way that pleases God. We desire to imitate Jesus’ life of devotion to the Father and his love of others, but where is the power to live as Jesus did?

The opening quote refers to Matthew 11:28-30, in which Jesus tells us to take his yoke, be joined to him, watch him and allow him to teach us how to live. And what we discover as we are yoked together with him is that the power to do the things Jesus did came through the lifestyle he lived.

Jesus lived a radical life of total devotion to the Father. It involved the discipline of his body and mind, submission of his will and complete surrender to the Father. Willard says, “Spiritual growth and vitality stem from what we actually do with our lives, from the habits we form, and from the character that results.”

We see Jesus’ life in the gospels as a model of his lifestyle, habits and character. Although his life of total devotion to the Father brought much suffering, it also brought intimacy, communion and joy with him.

As we look at Jesus’ lifestyle, we see he practiced the spiritual disciplines of prayer, silence and solitude, studying and meditating on the Word, simple and sacrificial living, and service to others. Although people can practice these disciplines in a legalistic manner, Jesus did so with a purpose and intent to see and hear the Father. And we can do the same.

During the COVID lockdown of 2020, I was introduced to and began practicing the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude, reflective Bible reading and meditation, prayer and fasting, and Sabbath keeping. Saying that my relationship with God was revolutionized is an understatement. As I purposefully slowed my life down to listen to God, I began to hear his still, small voice. As I approached the Scripture with listening ears and meditated on a verse or two, the Word came alive in a new way. Times of silence and stillness before the Father brought rest to my soul, and I gained a new understanding of why Jesus often went off to lonely places to pray.

Two books that I highly recommend for learning and practicing the spiritual disciplines are Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, by Richard J. Foster, and Silencio: Reflective Practices for Nurturing Your Soul, by Stephen A. Macchia.

A word of caution of what this lifestyle is not: This is not trying to live a perfect life through sheer willpower; rather, it is a stilling of ourselves before God and coming before him in devotion and love for the purpose of knowing him and his heart.

And be assured, you will fail in your attempts to be surrendered to him. Just in the last few days, I have failed in body, mind and will to live fully devoted to God. Gently he reminded me of my sin, granted me forgiveness and told me to put the yoke on again and keep my eyes on Jesus. No condemnation – just the encouragement of his presence that we are doing this together and that the Spirit within us can give us strength. We are not alone!

The spiritual disciplines enable us to position ourselves to seek God’s heart and presence in order to deepen our relationship with him. We are not demanding that he meet with us but are humbly offering ourselves to our God, who is worthy. May we learn to commune with God and deepen in our love and surrender toward him as we choose to live like Jesus did.