From my book Daily Prayer a reminder that practice makes perfect in terms of advancing in faith, just as it does with every other pursuit of excellence in life.
Read
Do you not know that those running in a race all take part, but only one receives the prize? Run, therefore, so that you may be the one who obtains it. Athletes wrestle to discipline their bodies, so that they may receive an award that ultimately perishes, but we strive for an imperishable award. In consequence, I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though I am pummelling thin air, but I subject my body to punishment to make sure that, having announced the race to others, I am not disqualified from it myself. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Ponder
What makes a champion? How is it that some people reach the top of their sport while the majority struggle along in the ranks of the average? Part of the answer, of course, lies in training and part in talent, but probably the most important thing is practice. As the old saying has it, practice makes perfect. In the world of sport, as in almost every other sphere of entertainment, what the spectator sees is the result of countless hours spent toiling away behind the scenes, building up fitness, mastering techniques, refining skills and working on temperament.
So it is with Christian discipleship. We cannot simply sign up and leave the rest to God, nor can we reach a certain point and then ease off. Faith involves determination, and commitment to a cause. It demands a constant programme of prayer, Bible study, reflection and worship; a daily striving to overcome our weaknesses and eliminate our mistakes; a hunger to achieve ever more in the service of Christ. God does not leave us to work alone. He has given the power of the Spirit within us to strengthen, instruct and motivate, but that can only do so much. Unless we play our part we will find ourselves struggling round the first lap wondering why others seem to have progressed so far in their faith, and we will have only ourselves to blame.
Ask yourself
Are you serious about your faith, treating it as a lifetime commitment, or is it more like a casual hobby – something you dip into as the fancy takes you?
Pray
Living God, I talk of commitment, yet so often I am casual about my faith and complacent in discipleship. I neglect your word and fail to make time for prayer or quiet reflection, thus giving myself little opportunity to hear you. Instead of seeking to grow in faith, I assume I have advanced as far as I need to. Forgive me my feeble vision and lack of dedication. Instil in me a new sense of purpose and a greater resolve to fulfil it, and so help me to achieve the prize to which you have called me in Jesus Christ, for his name’s sake. Amen.
Remember
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and what it means to participate in his sufferings through identifying with him in his death; if, through that, I may somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already achieved this or reached such a goal, but I endeavour continually to make it my own, just as Christ Jesus has made me his own. Friends, I do not claim to have yet secured this for myself; but what I do is this: forgetting what is past and straining forward to what is yet in store, I strive to reach the goal of the prize of God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:10-14
Close
Lord Jesus Christ, give me a vision of your kingdom and show me the part you would have me play in bringing it closer. So help me to strive each day towards that goal, for your name’s sake. Amen.