When I first started the practice of listening more deeply to God I thought I had to have this “conversion” experience every time, much like what was described to me during revivals as a child. “Give your life to Christ and then you will be saved. You will be changed!” But it never felt “right” to me. I felt I was always waiting for this smack over the head or bright light or something, which honestly made me feel like I was doing it wrong; like I was an imposter.

Spiritual disciplines are practices for developing, growing, and strengthening our ability to hear and recognize God in, with, and through our lives. While there is no formal, almighty, list of spiritual disciplines, some are more common than others. Throughout time, people have made suggestions about how to categorize them. Suggestions have included concepts like corporate or individual, internal or external, self-denial or action. I find it best to leave them uncategorized. I often feel pressure to choose equally from each category.