Spiritual Practices Part 1

July 21, 2026

Spiritual Practices Part 1: The Practice of Becoming

For me, reflection is another state of consciousness— aligned connection to my soul, tethered to the Divine. It is a time of stillness and inner harmony. It is a time when the spirit surrounds me, and I review, consider, and explore the infinite soul. In reflection, I look over my responses, concerns, and the application or my failure to apply the principles I hold dear. It allows me to enter my day with gratitude and spiritual eyes. Reflection opens the vault of memory and takes me to other eras and seasons of my life. There, stories come back to me and trigger all types of feelings and responses. The connection deepens my trust in God and readies me for the challenges that inevitably arise during the day.

Reflection is one of my spiritual practices. What are some of yours? How do they add to the vitality and depth of your spirit? How do they carry out their purpose in you? Why would we have a spiritual practice if our beliefs are strong? Let’s look at some of these questions…

None of us has developed to the highest capacity. There is always more within us—more depth, more love, more courage, more truth, more God.

Not everyone wants to grow beyond their present spiritual condition. But those who do soon discover something humbling and beautiful: we never reach the final pinnacle. We never arrive at the end of becoming. The spiritual searcher understands this because the Mystery is infinite, and the realms of God have no boundaries.

The spiritual searcher wants one thing more than anything else: to become the being God created them to become. Some call this the fulfillment of destiny. Others call it spiritual growth. But whatever words we use, the soul’s deepest desire is to unfold into its fullest identity.

This unfolding is not passive. It requires one transformation after another.

Within each of us is a seed planted at our making. But the seed must break open. It must be watered, tended, exposed to light, and rooted in something deeper than itself. In the same way, we must change on many levels if we are to become the fullness of what God placed within us. Transformation, then, is conscious participation in grace. It is our will to learn to live in submission to Divine Will.

Of course, some transformation is sudden and unplanned. Saul was struck down on the road to Damascus and rose as Paul, forever changed. And like Paul, there are moments when grace overtakes us before we even know how to ask for it.

But most spiritual growth does not come like lightning. It comes slowly. It comes through time, suffering, honesty, realization, regression, and spiritual work.

Spiritual work is the practice of meeting both the challenges and the beauties of life through the lens of the Spirit. It is learning to see differently. It is learning to respond rather than react. It is learning to recognize God not only in church, prayer, and silence, but also in conflict, disappointment, grief, love, beauty, and ordinary daily life.

One way we learn to see through this sacred lens is through spiritual practice.

Spiritual practices are the things we do regularly and intentionally to deepen our relationship with the Divine. They are the repeated movements of the soul toward God. They include prayer, meditation, study, silence, worship, reflection, gratitude, service, forgiveness, and sacred action—the lived application of what we say we believe.

A spiritual practice does not make God love us more. It makes us more available to the love that is already here.

In this series of Daily Reflections, we will reflect on various spiritual practices and their role in the growth of the soul.

Spiritual Practice 

What is the most regular thing you do with the intention of drawing closer to the mind and heart of God? This may be your primary spiritual practice. What are some of your other spiritual practices?

Inquiry

When we neglect our spiritual practice, something else usually takes its place. What becomes more pressing? And why do we allow it to be?

Prayer

Dear God, As I reflect, I realize that reflection itself is a spiritual practice. Deepen reflection in me. Let it become a doorway through which I come closer to You, closer to truth, and closer to the person You created me to become.

Amen