Prayer is such a huge subject. I could start a blog dedicated to the subject of prayer, post each day for the rest of my life, and still not run out of things to talk about when it comes to the subject. It's definately a subject I'll be posting on more later. So, for the sake of being brief I've chosen a few key quotes from Henri Nouwen on the subject of prayer. I love how I find just the right things to post at just the right time!
Prayer is an inner discipline, one formed and hammered in solitude. Prayer in community has power, but the true benefit and growth of prayer comes when you create room for it in your everyday life.

"One of the discoveries we make in prayer is that the closer we come to God, the closer we come to all our brothers and sisters in the human family..."

"To pray is to move to the center of all life, the center of all love. The closer I come to the hub of life, the closer I come to all that receives its strentgh and energy from there. My tendency is to get so distracted by the diversity of the many spokes of life, that I am busy but not truly life-giving, all over the place but not focused. By directing my attention to the heart of life, I am connected with its rich variety while remaining centered.What does the hub represent? I think of it as my own heart, the heart of God, and the heart of the world. When I pray, I enter into the depth of my own heart and find there the heart of God, who speaks to me of love."

Here I was thinking about what Spiritual Discipline to type up next for you and Lo and Behold my devotional book had a great quote on Fasting.
"In history, fasting was usually called in times of sorrow, mourning, or great affliction. [Also when the people were seeking an answer or direction from God - Megan]This was the Old Testament way. Until the times of Moses, fasting was never mentioned in the Bible. Jesus set no pattern, because He did not want us to get into a mold regarding fasting, which would make it a religious requirement, and thus not of God.
"Nature itself will put a fast on you when it is entriely necessary. Fasting is not simply abstinence from good; a total fast is to fast from all pleasures that take time and thought away from God. When you truly fast, you'd better leave everything alone, leave all you side-issues that you like so well, for not to do so is to not fast before God's eyes.Fasting must be done in sincerity and truth, not as before men but as before God. Those who openly fast have their reward; they received the acclaim of men but not of God.
"Fasting should never appear as an act of hardship but as an act of joy. We need to leave it up to the Holy Spirit as to when to lead us on to a fast." Jeanna Wilkerson
I know that this can be a controvertial topic. Some people are very legalistic about the issue of fasting (I actually have a book that says you aren't truly fasting unless you fast everything but water); other people disregard fasting altogether. Fasting, like every other discipline, has it's place and it's purpose within a Spiritual walk. I think the above quote is one of the best summations I've ever read on fasting. If you are interested in fasting I highly recommend a search in the Bible on the topic. And if you are offended by this posting then may I suggest that you pray about why the idea of fasting offends you so much.

I've got this great book called Spiritual Classics from Renovare (Richard J. Foster). It's a collection of classic writings and teachings on the Spritual Disciplines. It's a great book, if you can get your hands on a copy I highly recommend it. In the service section I found this quote:
"Be on gaurd, therefore, and let nothing disturb your peace. Do good under all circumstances, but with no care for any profit, or any blessedness, or any damnation, or any salvation, or any martyrdom; but all you do or omit should be for the honor of Love." Hadewijch of Antwerp (13th Century). I love what the old mystics had to say about faith and life.
I didn't know that Service was a Spiritual Discipline before I started doing research on the topic. Sometimes service can definatly feel like it requires discipline though! But here's the thing. We don't do Spritual Disciplines because we have to or because others want us to, we do them because they grow us spiritually. They help God to mold us and ply us into the new creations he wants us to be. Practicing service in your life will bless you.
Christ knew the scriptures. Jesus made time to pray. He spent time alone, meditated on the word, celebrated life, he modeled all the disciplines in his life, but he was known throughout Israeal for his heart of compassion and how he served His people. John tells us in the end of his gospel that all the books in the world could not contain all that Jesus did and taught during his ministry.
We often let life get in the way. We forget that this life that we live day to day is not the purpose. We aren't just trying to get from day to day alive, God has left us her for a reason. It doesn't have to be big, or complicated, or cost a lot, the only thing God asks is that we act from Love.

There are twelve traditional spiritual disciplines, in actuality there could be more, or less, depending on whose list you are working from. The Spiritual Disciplines are not biblically laid out (like the spiritual gifts, and fruits are), although they are biblical. They are habits, or behaviors, the Bible calls us to practice in our life to cultivate a righteous and healthy life. It takes personal discipline and control to fit these practices into our day to day lives.
I've decided to start with the discipline of solitude because many of the other "inner" disciplines (meditation, prayer, and silence) take place within solitude.

In every culture, except maybe our current one, solitude is recognized as valuable and worthwhile. Unfortunately, our materialistically driven culture which has disconnected itself from "self" and God has sadly raised up generations hungry for the benefits of solitude (this is why meditation, retreats, and other new age ideas are on the rise today). Most people today are afraid of being alone. I read this quote this morning and I thought it was worthy of sharing with you:
"What's the difference you might ask between lonliness and solitude? Don't they both mean you are alone?
Yes, but alone and lonely are not the same things. Alone means you stand on your own two feet and sit with yourself in peace. Lonely means you run to and fro, looking for yourself reflected in the eyes of other people. It means you define yourself by the absence of companionship. This kind of lonliness keeps us constantly seeking the face of others for satisfaction." from "Faith That Breathes" By Michael and Tiffany Ross

Solitude isn't something I can so much teach you to do, I mean, generally speaking, we all know how to be alone. But I think the above description of lonely is how most of us spend our time alone. Jesus was known for going off on his own to pray. He went early in the morning, after ministry, to make decisions (to start with check out Luke 5:15-16, Luke 6:12-13, John 6:15); he wasn't going to be alone with himself, but to be alone with God.
It's important we learn how to be alone, to stand on our own two feet, look up to God, and sit still in his presence. It's here we find ourselves, strength, joy, courage, wisdom, and many other spiritual blessings. It's in the regular practice of this discipline that the Abundant Life begins to take root and is cultivated.