Blake Long

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

I have virtually no discipline when it comes to eating healthy and taking care of my body. For all of my life, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and not gain any weight. Partly because I had such a high metabolism and was young, and partly because I played golf—which meant I was walking at least 3-4 miles a day on the course on top of working out.

That began to change when I quit the college golf team. I slowly began to gain a little weight, primarily in the gut. Then I got married; then I had kids; then, well, here we are. Though I’m not overweight, I have what one would call a “dad bod.” Each day, I look in the mirror and wish I would have better eating habits and also wished I would work out. I even bought my wife and me a pair of dumbbells and we’ve barely used them.

And even though our physical training is very important, how much more should we “train” spiritually so our mind and heart will be in the place God wants them to be?

Perhaps running a few miles comes natural to you, but opening up Scripture and reading a chapter takes everything you have. Maybe it’s easy for you to lift weights for 30 minutes, but it takes an act of Congress for you to take 10 minutes of alone time to pray. It’s great to be physically healthy, but far greater to be spiritually healthy.

So, the question remains: How do we train spiritually? If being godliness is “of value in every way,” then what’s the correct—or biblical—way to get there? Scripture is full of athletic analogies and likens the Christian life to a race (1 Cor. 9:24; Heb. 12:1, 11-13; 2 Tim. 4:7), so what’s the best way to train for our race?

Study the Bible Vigorously

In order to truly train spiritually, we must be in God’s Word consistently. And not just read the “verse of the day,” but dive headfirst into Scripture. Not just studying it to receive knowledge, but let it study us.

Jerry Bridges wrote in his book The Fruitful Life,

As we search the Scriptures, we must allow them to search us, to sit in judgment upon our character and conduct.

The most important part of studying Scripture is how it transforms us. We must study the Word to train, but it is unfruitful if we study for its own sake. We don’t study simply to know, but to be known.

So, make it a priority, day in and day out, to study God’s Word. Focus your time on a specific book at first, preferably a short one. This will train you well. You will come to know that book inside and out, and God will mold you more into the image of His Son in the process.

On days when I decide to eat a salad for lunch but have a Dr. Pepper and fast food later in the day, I can’t really review my day and say I trained my body well. Was it better than other days? Sure, but objectively it’s not great. The same is true if we merely read the Bible briefly and don’t give much thought to what we’re reading. That training will do us no good. Be vigorous, intentional, and committed—and ask God for help.

Pray Fervently

A prayerless Christian is a spiritually famished Christian. “Prayer is to the Christian what breath is to life,” the late RC Sproul once wrote, “yet no duty of the Christian is so neglected.”

Prayer is unfortunately widely undervalued in the Christian life. If we are to train spiritually, it is imperative we devote time to prayer. And just like with studying the Word, we don’t spend time in prayer for it’s own sake, but for ours. People frequently ask, “Does prayer change things?” Yes, in a way. Most importantly, it changes us.

We train physically to change our bodies. We want to be healthy instead of unhealthy. I want to be toned instead of rock a “dad bod.” Likewise, we train spiritually to be changed. The more we’re genuinely in prayer, the more God will make us more like Jesus.

It is when we neglect His Word and communicate to Him in prayer that we become spiritually weak and stagnant.

Fellowship Genuinely

There’s not much better than rich, vibrant fellowship with other church members before and after service. It’s a great feeling to spend time with fellow believers, who think the same way you do and believe the same things you believe.

In this post-COVID age, churches around the globe are still dealing with members staying home to watch online somewhere else. Christians need to remember how vital fellowship is to their spiritual health.

Training spiritually won’t be complete or whole unless we spend time with fellow, like-minded saints. And, once again, we don’t do this because it’s just fun, but because we are edified from it. Each member in the local church is vastly important, because we all need everyone.

So, Christian, understand this: showing up to church is your spiritual training. It’s getting up at 5:30 a.m. for your workout. Some days it’s like walking uphill with ankle weights on, and other days it’s like coasting in a lazy river.

Keep Training

We must train because we want to become more like Jesus. That is our sanctification, to be made more like the Son. Reading the Bible, praying, fellowship—Christians should desire these things. We aren’t perfect, and the struggle will happen many times. But we must push forward by God’s grace.

The race of faith will finish one day, sooner than we think. We will be done, and glory will await us.