1 Timothy 4:7-8 — But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Myra and I are making a concerted effort to exercise more. Let’s tell the truth. I need exercise, and my sweetheart is exercising to encourage me. We really pushed it tonight, so maybe that’s why my thoughts were running on these verses.
Perhaps I should be focusing, instead, on Hebrews 12:1 — “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”. I really need to lose the weight — but somehow, that’s not what’s on my mind.
Paul tells Timothy, “exercise thyself rather unto Godliness” and I’ve often heard the verse used as an encouragement to “spiritual exercise”. Fine, but what does that actually mean?
I don’t know if there’s a fixed definition, but here’s my list of “spiritual exercises”.
It starts with being still before The Lord. Does that sound simple? I promise you that it isn’t. “Be still and know that I am God” is actually really hard. It us, however, essential. In that respect, spiritual exercise and physical exercise are similar. It’s important to concentrate, to get you mind right.
Then there’s prayer. That’s another one that’s deceptively simple. How hard can it be? Hands together, eyes closed, tell God what you want. If that’s how your prayer life is, I can promise that pretty soon you’re going to run dry. Prayer is about opening your heart to God, and lining up your will with His.
Next, Bible study comes to mind. “Wait,” I hear you say, “study is study, how is that a spiritual exercise?” I’m hoping, by now, that you see where I’m going with this. Spiritual exercise is all about beefing up your spiritual muscles so you can be fit to work with God. Bible study is about allowing God to speak through His word. That is a non-trivial exercise! It means looking at scripture from every angle. It’s doing Bible study the way Martin Luther described it — “For some years now, I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.” That’s exercise!
Last — and only last because I have to stop before this little piece becomes, at the very least, a chapter — there’s worship. Worship. The most physical of the spiritual exercises! In some ways, worship is the end result of the other spiritual exercises. It’s praising God for what you know about Him. But you can worship at the top of your game — or not so well. The best worship is utterly focused — and that needs practice!
As I thought about this topic, and worked into it, I realized I had more and more to say, and to learn. I might come back to this one!