Five Tools for Spiritual Growth

Part I: Prayer
Prayer is the act of speaking to God. It’s a
fundamental part of our relationship with Him—after all, a relationship without communication is hardly a relationship at all. But prayer can also feel like a mysterious ritual, with fuzzy rules and an unclear purpose.

In general, our Lord’s prayers teach us how to speak with God about three important areas of life—our relationship with Him as our Father in heaven, His overall plan for the human race and how our own personal needs and desires fit into it all. We also cover a litany of prayer FAQs—everything from “How long should my prayers be?” to “What if God isn’t answering my prayer?”—before diving into specific, noteworthy examples of prayer in the Bible. By examining how men and women of God have prayed to their Creator in a variety of different situations, we can learn important lessons to apply to our own prayer life.

Part II: Bible study
Bible study is the other half of our conversation with God. Because “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16, English Standard Version), Bible study is the powerful tool that allows us to hear the words God has for us. Combined with prayer, Bible study enables vital two-way communication with God.
But Bible study can get complicated—and confusing. With 66 books in the Bible, written by a multitude of different authors in three different original languages across hundreds of years of human history, it’s hard to know where to start.

Bible study aims to provide a solid overview of what the Bible is, how it came to be, what historical eras it discusses, the different writing styles its authors employed, why translations matter, different approaches you can take to planning out your own personal studies and how to make use of a variety of other Bible-related resources.
The more time we take to understand the Bible as the incredible God-breathed book that it is, the deeper and richer our conversations with God will become.

Part III: Meditation
Different cultures and religions offer conflicting definitions of the practice, but godly meditation, as defined in the Bible, serves a key function in the life of a Christian.

Meditation is about understanding what godly meditation looks like and how it strengthens our connection with God.

Part IV: Fasting
Fasting appears repeatedly in the Bible, but it’s not always clear what the biblical process of fasting looked like—or even what the people involved hoped to accomplish. But Jesus advised to fast in some certain occasion.

Part V: Fellowship
creating opportunities for growth that simply could not exist on an individual level. Because we’re all imperfect human beings, fellowship naturally comes with the possibility of a profound sense of connection—and a profound sense of rejection.
In addition to exploring how God designed fellowship to work,

Part V of Five Tools for Spiritual Growth spends time examining the steps we can take to help make fellowship a rewarding experience for everyone involved.

This part includes seven keys to godly fellowship, tips for relating to people who come from different backgrounds and even practical tips for navigating conversations with our brethren.
Learning to imitate our Father in heaven
Being called to imitate God is an intimidating task—but it’s an exciting one too.

God calls us His children. He calls Himself our Father. Just as children naturally pick up on the mannerisms, habits and behaviors of their parents, so we can come to be more like our Heavenly Father. And, indeed, God lovingly invites us to imitate Him.

Like those of children, our imitations of our Father will be imperfect. Jesus called us to “be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”—but neither God the Father or Jesus Christ expect us to be perfect right now, in this moment. It’s a process—and the more time we spend with God—in prayer, in Bible study, in meditation, in fasting and even in fellowship—the more perfect those imitations will become.
In time, they’ll become so ingrained in our character, we’ll find ourselves imitating God without even thinking about it.
Our great God is growing a family, and He wants you to be part of it.