RDAVIS@UTKVX (Reid M. Davis, UTK) (02/09/90)
Dear fellow pilgrims,
Peter Capell writes (Peter, this is primarily intended
as a small correction to a statement you posted. It makes
no comment on the main topic of your posting, and I suspect
that you and I may mean something quite different by "perceiving
the Holy Spirit"; but I thought that you and others might be
interested.):
> In my experience, there is no Christian teaching or
>practice that incorporates any kind of physiological
>change to enhance one's perception of and communication
>with the Holy Spirit...
Now I, at least, am familiar with several disciplines taught
in Scripture as a means (with God's grace) to grow the knowledge
of and obedience to God.
First, there is the discipline of continual meditation on the
Word of God and on those things which are good and godly (I
can search out the references if you like, but one doesn't have
to look too far to find this idea). This is certainly not a
physical discipline, but it is a discipline done in the privacy
of one's own heart.
Second, there is the discipline of prayer. Christ, Himself,
taught us to go to a private place to pray. There we meet
with God alone in order to worship Him, seek Him, and seek
His help in living lives which please Him. Not only do we
need to do this alone and in a quiet place, but we often do
it with the body in an unusual position--kneeling or with
hands raised or eyes shut, for instance.
Third, there is fasting. Saints of all ages have understood
fasting as a way of "mortifying the flesh" so as to approach
God more closely, whether it be to understand Him better or
to cry out to Him for help.
And beyond these, believers have found many other disciplines
helpful in learning to know and love God. Disciplines of
silence, solitude, giving, and poverty are only a few of
those known to the followers of Jesus. If you are interested
in the matter, the book "Celebration of Discipline" by
Richard Foster (I think that is the author's name) outlines
a number of the disciplines which have been practiced in
Christendom with a view toward helping believers who aren't
familiar with them to learn to practice them as a means
to knowing God better.
I hope this is helpful.
Your fellow pilgrim,
Reid M. Davis