Prayer, Scripture, Service: Mastering a Spiritual Routine
Catharine Edgar
Introduction
When I was in college, my roommates and I decided that we wanted to become runners. We made goals of running marathons and half marathons at the end of that semester. Most of us had played sports in high school and liked to work out at the gym, but we did not realize how much training it took to prepare for those races. Before we started running, we researched marathon training schedules online and adapted them for ourselves. We started off slowly, running 1 or 2 miles every other day, and then 3 miles on the weekend. As the weeks went on, we increased the miles until we were running 6 or 7 miles every other day and 13-15 miles on the weekend. It took time and dedication to find a running routine that worked for us. We decided running together in the early morning helped everyone stay motivated. We stuck to our trainings, and in the end, we all finished our races that summer.
Just as athletes are devoted to exercising, we can also become devoted to exercising our faith. We can do this by creating and implementing a daily spiritual routine. A spiritual routine takes time and dedication to find what works for you. Some days we feel inspired and very encouraged in our spirituality, and other times we feel ambivalent and just want to take a day off. However, practicing a daily spiritual routine can lead us to become more kind, loving, and hopeful.
While studying the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the Bible, we can see that even Jesus had a spiritual routine. He often went up to a mountain to pray, went to the temples to read the Word and teach, and constantly walked the streets helping those in need. He has set a perfect example for us to follow.
Although it feels like there is never enough time in the day to get anything done, you only need a few minutes to say a prayer, read a passage of Scripture, and serve someone each day. We allot more time to the things we value most, so you may need to do some readjusting to your already full schedule. It will be worth it. If you are searching for a way to develop your spirituality each day, I invite you to take those three simple steps to help you create a spiritual routine.
Catharine Edgar