Throughout church history, people who know Jesus as their Savior and Lord have practiced spiritual disciplines.
Practicing habits of devotion isn’t about rules or trying to conform to “acceptable” actions you impose on yourself (or that others set for you). Instead, these disciplines deepen your relationship with God so you can be conformed to the image of Jesus. We discipline ourselves — train ourselves — for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).
Interestingly, the same disciplines that feed your soul canalso positively impact your emotional and mental health.
An overview of spiritual disciplines
Spiritual disciplines can be studied as three basic categories: inward, outward, and corporate. Each of these areas helps keep your mind and emotions stable and balanced. They also remind you that God’s purpose for your life extends beyond you.
Inward spiritual disciplines include:
- Reading, studying, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture.
- Journaling.
- Praying.
- Fasting. (Always check with your doctor before fasting.)
Outward spiritual disciplines include:
- Being generous with your money, time, and service.
- Expressing gratitude.
- Spending time in silence or purposeful rest.
- Choosing simplicity by reducing unnecessary complications and overcommitments.
Corporate spiritual disciplines (activities where you gather collectively with other people) include:
- Worship.
- Encouragement.
- Teaching and guidance.
- Accountability and confession of sin.
How spiritual disciplines support mental health
Sustaining good mental health requires being grounded. Being grounded means being mentally and emotionally stable, practical, sensible, and realistic. And stable emotional and mental health requires regular reminders of what is real and true.
Spiritual disciplines — inward, outward, and corporate — are solid mental health grounding techniques that can keep you tethered to what’s real and what’s true. How?
- Reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible grounds you to God’s truth and what He says is reality (Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
- Meditation, solitude, and prayer ground you to God and the realness of His personal presence (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 116:1-7; John 15).
- Giving and serving others grounds you to your community. It reminds you that you need others — and they need you (1 Corinthians 12; Philippians 2:3-7; 1 Peter 4:8-10).
- Being thankful grounds you in the fact that you’re ultimately dependent on God for your very life (Philippians 4:4-7).
- Gathering with other like-minded people groundsyou to your humanity and the humanity of others. You’re grounded to the reality of being part of a bigger story — a story written by God, not you. Corporate activity reminds you that you’re not alone in this world, and it fosters a greater sense of meaning in life (Acts 2:42-44; Ephesians 4:25; James 5:13-16).
God created us as integrated, whole people
God created humans as physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual beings. And He made the human body, mind, and spirit to work in unity as an integrated, whole being. That’s why regularly practicing spiritual disciplines can benefit your spiritual and mental health. For more insight, we invite you to read our entire article How Practicing Spiritual Disciplines Can Positively Impact Your Mental Health. We also recommend Richard J. Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline.
