DAY 8 - DISCIPLINE

When I was fifteen years old, I built my first unicycle.

Sure, I had to tear apart my little brothers tricycle to attach the pedal-wheel to the bike fork.  I somehow attached a seat at the top, probably with a hose clamp.  It was funny-looking, but it worked!  And yet, that was just the beginning.

To ride the contraption, I had to practice my take-off, my balance, my forward and backward pedaling.  It took days of discipline.  But I learned to ride a unicycle and would later ride one (a real one!) in a local parade, dressed as a clown - not necessarily one of my proudest achievements, but still worth the memory!

Discipline is tough to teach, tough to learn.  The Bible speaks, repeatedly, of having and practicing discipline.  The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to discipline himself, “for the purpose of godliness.”  The Apostle Peter reminds us to be disciplined with “sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”

The paradox is this:  although we should pray for spiritual discipline, it requires discipline to pray.  And yet the reward of such discipline is great - the Spirit is moved within!

PRAYER 8:  God, Give Us Discipline
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
Jim Rohn

Today pray for the discipline to continue on your journey of 40 days!  Pray for the spiritual discipline of prayer in your life, the discipline to offer genuine, heart-felt prayer on a regular basis.