Throughout church history, people who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior have practiced spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are habits that help a Christian grow spiritually. These activities deepen a person’s relationship with God so they can be conformed to the image of Jesus.
But did you know that the same disciplines that feed and deepen your spiritual soul can also positively impact your emotional and mental health? Let’s look at how.
What Is a Discipline?
Merriam-Webster defines a discipline as an “orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior.” In that sense, discipline is an action, not an attitude.
When you practice a discipline, you develop yourself through self-controlled activity, exercise, or instruction. Like an athlete or musician, you practice repeatedly — even when you don’t feel like it. Practicing a discipline is not always easy or fun. But you still do it because of the eventual reward.
And even though disciplines involve action, they’re not an end in themselves. In other words, practicing a discipline isn’t about trying to conform to “acceptable” actions you impose on yourself or that others set for you. Instead, the motivation behind disciplining yourself is to gain mastery in a specific aspect of your life.
What Is a Spiritual Discipline?
Spiritual disciplines, explains professor Don Whitney, “are habits of devotion, habits of experiential Christianity that have been practiced by God’s people since biblical times.”
As Christians, then, the goal of spiritual discipline is to bring us into a closer relationship with God. Again, it’s not about legalistically following a set of rules. Rather, we discipline ourselves — train ourselves — for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). Doing so helps us become the people God created us to be — and helps us stay emotionally and mentally balanced.
Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline, breaks down spiritual disciplines into three categories: inward discipline, outward discipline, and corporate discipline. We’ll use that framework here to look at each of these areas and how they relate to mental health.
The Connection between Inward Spiritual Disciplines and Mental Health
Inward spiritual disciplines offer many benefits to your mental health. Some common inward spiritual disciplines include:
- Reading the Bible.
- Studying the Bible.
- Memorizing verses or passages of Scripture.
- Meditating on sections of the Bible or other spiritual writings.
- Journaling.
- Praying.
- Fasting.
Reading, Studying, and Memorizing
Reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible are known to do the following. (And the benefits increase when you use a physical book* rather than a digital version!)
- Reduce stress.
- Help alleviate depression.
- Sharpen focus and concentration.
- Help develop greater empathy.
- Increase self-discipline.
- Help prevent memory loss.
- Give goals to work toward.
- Build knowledge and deepen wisdom.
Journaling and Meditation
Journaling and meditation (also called mindfulness) have been proven* to:
- Improve focus and concentration.
- Reduce stress.
- Manage anxiety and depression.
- Control pain.
- Help process past traumas.
- Help fight addictions.
Fasting
Fasting has many physical benefits.* (Check with your doctor before fasting.) Among other things, fasting can:
- Sharpen thinking.
- Improve memory.
- Lower high blood pressure.
- Brighten overall mood.
The Connection between Outward Spiritual Disciplines and Mental Health
Outward spiritual disciplines help you keep your mind and emotions stable and balanced. They also remind you that God’s purpose for your life extends beyond you. Outward spiritual disciplines include:
- Giving money or time.
- Being generous.
- Serving others.
- Being thankful and expressing gratitude.
- Spending time in solitude (time spent in silence or purposeful times of resting).
- Choosing simplicity (reducing unnecessary complications and overcommitments).
Generosity
Research suggests that the activities of giving, being generous, and serving others can support positive mental health* because they:
- Improve mood.
- Increase enjoyment in life.
- Lead to being better grounded and more optimistic.
- Reduce stress and depression.
- Increase connection with others.
- Reduce loneliness.
- Improve sleep, which helps brain function.
- Improve relationships with others.
- Reduce blood pressure, which can reduce levels of stress and anxiety.
Solitude
Solitude is purposeful time away from all distractions of life — people, screens, and social media included! Whether you think of solitude as “down time” or “white-noise time,” it means being alone in silence whether that’s at home or out in nature.
Just as sleep is an important period of rest to keep our bodies healthy, silence and solitude provide important rest for our souls and minds. Practicing daily solitude even for 10 to 20 minutes is beneficial. And spending a full day in solitude every month or so can help even more.
Time spent in silence away from others can:
- Increase empathy towards others.
- Allow the brain to rest and reboot.
- Reduce stress.
- Provide undisturbed time and space to problem-solve.
- Allow time to make decisions without feeling rushed or pressured.
Simplicity
Choosing to live simply benefits you and others.* It means you manage your schedule and material possessions in a way that they don’t feel cluttered or complicated. And when you’re not feeling harassed by your calendar or belongings — and you’re not feeling tempted to keep up with the Joneses — you can enjoy what’s in front of you.
Choosing simplicity can:
- Foster creativity and improve concentration.
- Reduce stress and muscle tension.
- Increase opportunities for experiencing joy and well-rounded living.
- Create margin to invest in and improve relationships.
- Lessen financial stress.
The Connection between Corporate Spiritual Disciplines and Mental Health
Activities that help you physically connect with other human beings are known as corporate spiritual disciplines.
Regularly meeting with others in person — whether for a sports event, a support group, or a church worship service — can improve mental health as well as overall life satisfaction. And the benefits to your emotional and mental health increase when a gathering includes fellowship, celebration, and accountability.
Corporate spiritual disciplines include activities where you gather collectively for:
- Worship.
- Encouragement.
- Teaching and guidance.
- Accountability and confession of sin.
Practicing corporate disciplines regularly can:
- Bring a sense of oneness and connectedness.
- Reduce loneliness.
- Increase empathy.
- Increase a sense of well-being.
Grounding Techniques for 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 grounds you 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. It 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).
Spiritual Disciplines and the Whole Person
The end goal of practicing spiritual disciplines regularly is to help you deepen your personal walk with and connection to Jesus Christ. At the same time, spiritual disciplines can support your mental health.
That’s because 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.
Regularly practicing spiritual disciplines will take time, effort, and energy. But it will become easier as you make the disciplines a habit and as you start to recognize their benefits to your spiritual and mental health.
So, when you’re thinking about your mental health, ask yourself, “How many of the spiritual disciplines am I currently doing?” Think about which disciplines you can start — or pick back up — to keep your emotional and mental health strong and thriving.
We’re Here to Help
Maybe you have questions about the Gospel and what it means to follow Jesus. Or maybe you’ve been a Christian for a long time but the idea of spiritual disciplines is new to you and you’re not sure where to start. We’d be glad to talk with you!
Call Focus on the Family’s Counseling department at 1-855-771-HELP (4357) for a free over-the-phone consultation. Our licensed or pastoral counselors would be honored to listen to you, pray with you, and offer biblical wisdom. They can also refer you to a professional counselor in your area for deeper discussion. In the meantime, we recommend reading Richard J. Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline.
* Links to secular organizations don’t mean that their content necessarily aligns with Focus on the Family’s perspective in all areas. We offer them for informational purposes only.
Resources
If a title is currently unavailable through Focus on the Family, we encourage you to use another retailer.
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Revised)
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ – 20th Anniversary Edition
The Practice of the Presence of God
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy With God
Articles
Fasting as a Spiritual Discipline
Praying the Psalms as a Spiritual Discipline
Questions and Concerns About Contemplative Prayer
Keller on Quiet Times, Mysticism, and the Priceless Payoff of Prayer
