Seven Examples of Small Steps for Spiritual Formation

The Regnare Project is about how we put into practice all that we’re learning from Jesus about living the good life of God’s kingdom. Most of the time, putting these things into practice involve small steps, depending on Jesus to multiply what little we bring to the table, producing remarkable results we didn’t think were possible. If you need more info about how this works, check out Starting Small for Lasting Spiritual Formation.

If you’re new to the idea of how small the “small steps” really are, we’ve put together a short list of seven examples. In each one, you’ll see the subtle art of cooperation with God, of walking toward a new kind of life “yoked” together with a very strong and capable Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30). See if any of these are small steps God might be calling you to take to go deeper with him into the good life of his kingdom:

• Bible study: put your Bible on the kitchen table where you eat breakfast. Leave it open to the last place you read. When you sit down to breakfast with your Bible there, recognize as you see it that God is welcoming you into his presence and into the day he has made. Read the Bible while eating breakfast (instead of surfing your smartphone or watching a show). When you’re done eating breakfast, you’re done reading the Bible. Before you get up to set your dishes in the sink, pause for just a brief moment, listening for how God might be speaking to you through the Scripture you read. Take one phrase or idea with you, ruminating on it for as long as you can as you start your day.
• Prayer: choose a simple prayer routine that you can easily memorize, such as the classic A.C.T.S. format: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Pray one sentence each for these and then sweep your mind for anything else God has placed on your heart. Take with you that moment of connection with God, knowing he has heard you and that his presence and power go with you into whatever comes next in your day.
• Silence: after everyone else in your house is either getting ready for bed or already asleep, go find a quiet room in the house and close the door. If you live in a noisy neighborhood or can’t escape the sound of music or other distractions, buy yourself a pair of inexpensive ear protection people use for target shooting. Bring a timer with you and set it for five minutes. Your thoughts will try to fill the silence; simply brush them away as they arise, attending to God’s quiet but sure presence with you. When you are finished, take whatever sense of peace God has granted to you and treasure it as a gift, carrying that peace with you into your day.
• Charity (love): choose one person in your world with whom you have a relationship and with whom you interact on a daily basis. In addition to whatever other interactions you have them each day, speak a very brief word of prayer for them: something like, “Father, show them your powerful and gentle care today” or “God, help them carry their burdens today” or “Holy Spirit, fill them with life and joy today”. Then expectantly watch for an opportunity that God will set up for you to love them in one small, subtle way. Some ideas: give them a meaningful compliment; empathize with something they say by repeating it back in order to show that you are truly listening to them; reach out to them with meaningful physical touch appropriate to your relationship with them; write them something via text or email that will bless or encourage them; anticipate something they need to do and do it for them.
• Fasting: skip a single meal like breakfast or lunch. As each signal of hunger comes from your body, let that be a prompt you to direct your attention to God. Re-assure yourself that another meal is coming soon. Listen to the rebellion of your body, how bossy and tricky it is, paying attention to the way it tries to manipulate you. Remind yourself that your life is sustained not merely by food but by that which comes from the hand of God. Let God be your sustenance and strength as you fast.
• Journaling: put a little notebook or a stack of index cards next to your bed. Before turning the light off each night, jot down a maximum of three quick bullet points of things that you think your future self might want to look back on: something you heard from God, a reflection about some part of your day, a significant event, a meaningful interaction you had with someone that day, a decision you made and want to stick with. Make these bulleted statements as short as you can while still preserving enough of the context for your future self. Keep these short records for a week, and then on Saturday or Sunday, set aside 10 minutes to flip back through them prayerfully, asking God if he’s got anything he wants you to do with anything you wrote down.
• Vital exercise: immediately before breakfast, make a part of your food preparation a short set of strength-training exercises focusing on major muscle groups like pushups or squats. Before you begin, pause and acknowledge that all your strength comes from God. Then complete a set of ten exercises. As your heart pounds when you’re finished, thank God for the strength he has given your body. Then go about the rest of your normal morning routine. Even a short set of exercise repeated daily can have a big impact and positive long term effects on your stress, overall strength and health, and your energy throughout the day.

Don’t try all of these at once. Just pick one or two that appeal to you, or come up with a variation of your own. Remember that just about anything can be a spiritual discipline if it leads you to love God and others (including yourself) well.

Give yourself at least three weeks of repetition for the habit to become “the new normal”, and then evaluate the impact and value of the change. If it is worthwhile and you have seen positive benefits from it, ruminate on that fact and give thanks to God. If you are in the habit of keeping a spiritual formation journal, be sure to reflect on your experience and any factors that have caused you to falter in your commitment. Tell yourself and friends about the truth of the change’s benefits in order to further establish it as a part of your life.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” says Jesus (Matthew 11:29). He doesn’t expect superhuman effort from us, because the superhuman strength for lasting spiritual formation comes from him. Our part is to recognize our weakness and to offer what little strength we do have in small but faithful steps of obedience. And as we do so, we will see him multiply our small efforts as he did with the loaves and the fish (Luke 9:10-17).

Stay tuned for how to combine small steps over time into a “rule of life” as we give more and more of our daily activities to Jesus and his kingdom.

Until then, what small steps have you taken with Jesus that have resulted in big changes?