Friday, November 21, 2008

The Discipline of Study

Ok, so like i said before i'm reading about and learning the spiritual disciplines. who knew studying was a discipline??? so Foster explains that there are four steps in studying as a discipline. Repetition, contemplation, comprehension, and reflection. I learned long ago about the repetition. read one book of the bible completely through in one day in one sitting. do that about 10 times before you really get something profound out of it. contemplate on it. meditate on it (which by the way is another discipline). Then, and only then ask what is it saying. Comprehend it. After you know what it says, then ask yourself how you should now be in light of this scripture. Wow! it's clear to me why it's called discipline. oh God, teach me to be disciplined. Foster also recommends to periodically schedule for yourself a study retreat where you get away for a weekend to devote it completely to study without interruption. prepare yourself for 10-12 hour day of studying a book of the bible. on a regular basis, read smaller books of the bible that you can read through easily in one sitting everyday for a month. the same book. sounds completely life-changing. anyone read for some life change???

3 comments:

jdanbarnes said...

I have never heard of that technique, but I'll give it a shot. Found your blog sort of by random chance, but I'm glad I did. I have always been in awe of men like Jonathan Edwards who ate in such a way that he had the most consentration of alertness for study. No cheeseburgers I guess. Thanks for the blog!

Mr. and Mrs. Nurse Boy said...

I am always ready for some change, even more so if it can bring me even closer to God! I am enjoying your posts. Much more deep than mine! I seem to remain on the shallow side of the pool...in the blog world.

Mrs. Nurse Boy

Sly said...

Spiritual journeys are both fulfilling and frightening... You never know what you may find and how it may affect you. Good luck with your quest and thank you for the courage to share it.

Sly