Last week Friday when i was having an online interview with Amana Radio 98.1 FM Gombe in ACTS Bookshop at Jos Ecwa Theological Seminary (JETS) my eyes come across a book titled “The life you’ve always wanted :Spiritual disciplines for Ordinary people by John Ortberg. I keep meditating on how to fashion my life with a clear define discipline that my Lecture Rev. Dr Dan Luke has been taking me in my Masters class this first semester .
Since Sunday, I have been pondering a question that has challenged me deeply: What does it really mean to be disciplined in my walk with God? On Monday and Wednesday, an unexpected answer came through a simple experience. I followed a friend Arch Othman Y. Michael to the Jos Golf Club, not as a golfer but as an observer. As I watched the players prepare for their shots, I became fascinated by their composure, concentration, precision, patience, and intentionality. Before striking the ball, they carefully positioned themselves, studied the target, maintained focus, and then executed the shot. I realised that the visible swing was only the final expression of a discipline that had already taken place in the mind and body.
That observation became a mirror for my own spiritual life. I began asking myself, Do I approach my walk with God with the same seriousness and intentionality? Do I prepare my heart for prayer? Do I give God’s Word the concentration it deserves? Do I cultivate the habits necessary for spiritual maturity, or do I sometimes desire spiritual growth without submitting myself to the discipline through which growth occurs?
Paul’s instruction in 1 Timothy 4:7 became particularly meaningful to me: “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”
This reminds me that spiritual maturity does not happen accidentally. Grace is God’s gift, but discipleship requires a deliberate response to that grace through prayer, Scripture, obedience, worship, fellowship, service, and continual renewal of the mind (Romans 12:1-2).
The golf course helped me understand that discipline is not merely about intensity; it is about intentionality and consistency. A golfer cannot become precise simply by wishing for a good shot. Precision develops through practice, patience, correction, concentration, and repetition. Likewise, I cannot become spiritually mature merely because I desire a deeper relationship with God. I must intentionally practise the disciplines that create space for God to shape my character.
I was particularly struck by the composure of the golfers before each shot. There was a moment of stillness before action.
This reminded me of Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” In a world filled with noise, distraction, and hurried activity, spiritual discipline requires learning to pause, listen, discern, and respond to God rather than simply react to circumstances. Hebrews 12:1-2 similarly calls believers to lay aside every weight and run with endurance, “looking unto Jesus.” Spiritual discipline therefore involves learning what must be removed from my life so that my attention remains centred on Christ.
At the same time, I recognise that the analogy has its limits. Christian discipleship is not a performance through which I earn God’s approval. I am not accepted by God because I have mastered spiritual disciplines; rather, I practise them because I have received God’s grace in Christ. Discipline does not replace dependence upon God it deepens it.
My experience at the golf course has therefore become a personal lesson in discipleship. The golfer prepares before the swing; the disciple prepares the heart before God.
The golfer develops precision through practice; the disciple develops maturity through obedience. The golfer manages distraction; the disciple fixes his eyes on Christ.
Paul’s athletic metaphor in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 now speaks to me with renewed significance. The Christian life requires intentionality, self-control, perseverance, and purposeful training. I left the golf course convinced that I cannot desire the fruit of spiritual maturity while neglecting the disciplines that cultivate it. If I desire a deeper prayer life, I must pray; if I want to know Scripture, I must study it; if I desire Christlike character, I must practise obedience.
What began on Monday as a simple thought about discipline became on Wednesday a profound spiritual reflection.
The golf course taught me that discipline turns intention into practice, practice into habit, and under the transforming work of the Holy Spirit habit into character. My challenge, therefore, is no longer merely to admire spiritual discipline as an important Christian virtue, but to intentionally put it into my daily walk with God.
The deeper question I now carry is not simply, “Am I a Christian?” but, “Am I deliberately allowing Christ to form me?”
This is what keep coming back to me as i think of spiritual formation of my life.
Cliff Stanley
Political Scientist, Public Theologian.