Welcome back. We're joined again by Dr. Don Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality

and Associate Dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

in Louisville. Don is known for his classic book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,

and he is the author of a new book from Crossway. It's titled, Preying the Bible. We're

talking about the Spiritual Disciplines and Don. I know you hear this question all the time because

it's an important one. In the Christian Life, what are the two most important personal spiritual

disciplines that we can engage in? What is your answer when it comes to priority?

The answer to that is very clear. The two most important personal spiritual disciplines are the

intake of the Word of God and prayer and in that order. For it's much more important for us to

hear from God through his word than for God to hear from us in prayer. So it is essential that

those two have priority. Furthermore, all the other biblical spiritual disciplines grow out of

those, particularly they grow out of the Word of God. So something like fasting or whatever that,

we find that in the Word of God. It's shaped by the Word of God. Our instruction for doing that

is found in the Word of God. Now what I've discovered though is that people want to say,

you know, I go to a good Bible believing church and every time I come to church it seems in one

way or another, I hear about intake of the Bible and prayer. Give me something else. You know,

give me something more exotic. Talk about some of the more exotic spiritual disciplines like

fasting or solitude or keeping a journal or something like that. If someone is not founded,

well in the Word of God and prayer, forget fasting. Forget journaling. The foundation is the

Word of God and prayer. And I say that as a note to pastors and teachers, people who are teaching

on the spiritual disciplines, if you're teaching the spiritual disciplines does not result in people

at the very least becoming more consistent in the Word and in prayer. Forget all the other ones.

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