We may hesitate to examine the spirituality of Jesus’ life by treating Him as a special class with whom we could never identify. Yet the author of Hebrews reminds us that “It was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful high Priest before God” (Hebrews 2:17). By the mystery of God, Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. Hebrews goes on to say, “So even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered" ”Hebrews 5:8).

If Jesus “learned” and grew in obedience, it makes sense that He would have also employed spiritual discipline and exercises to cultivate His soul and grow in the things of God, just as we do. With the exception of repentance and confession, we see numerous examples of all the disciplines consistently practiced in Jesus’ life.

In one of the most intriguing promises in Scripture, Jesus says “The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” (John 14:12). If Jesus used the spiritual disciplines to assist Him in His accomplishments, how much more should we practice the spiritual disciplines of...?