Exercising Different Spiritual Muscles

I recently had a foot injury resulting from “overuse.” The injury forced me to change my running exercise routine into lower impact cardio and strength-based exercises. After starting this routine, I soon realized that many of my muscle groups were not as fit because I had been spending too much exercise time on my leg muscles. 

While pondering this insight, I started to consider whether my “spiritual muscles” were following a similar pattern. Was I overusing some spiritual methods that I happened to like more than others, and as a result, was I less “spiritually fit” overall? Was I missing opportunities to balance out my spiritual life?

Many of us get into a spiritual rut with our prayer routines. We may stick with a prayer routine for years, but maybe we’re less “fit” when it comes to other prayer forms, fasting, almsgiving, service, or just simply loving the neighbor God puts in front of us. One way to determine if it may be time for a change is to consider whether what you are doing is still bearing fruit in your life. You might also consider whether prayer has become more boring or lackluster for you. If so, it’s time for some new energy!

Lent is a great opportunity to try something different. For example, fasting has never been my spiritual strength, and so this year I am doing a more rigorous fast, and I’m finding that it’s strengthening me against typical temptations. The Bible has also never been something I’ve read cover to cover, and so I’m doing a 52 week study. These are some ways I am infusing some new routines into my life.

How might God be calling you to exercise different spiritual muscles this Lent and beyond?