The Journey

Invitation to a Journey ~ A Road Map to Spiritual Formation
M. Robert Mulholland & Ruth Haley Barton
plus
Notes and writings on Spiritual Formation from the
Institute for Spiritual Formation, Biola University

Lesson 7—The Image of Christ—Chapter 3 pp. 44-47

Opening Prayer

1.  Thoughts from last time?
What was your experience with the Prayer of Honesty?

2.  Points of Unlikeness
The points at which our Self is UNlike Christ
If we are made new in Christ at Salvation, how can we still be unlike Christ?

3.  Already/Not Yet
We are redeemed and justified, but not fully sanctified/perfected.
In what areas are we being formed?
What is THE POINT of Unlikeness with Christ—where our image does not match His?

4.  Who/what is the New Self?
Ephesians 4:22
If the Cross is the Point of Unlikeness with Christ, what happens to take us there?
Matthew 16:24,25
What is the Cross that we must take up?

5.  Confrontation
The Spirit, who lives in our heart with all the residue of the Old Self, continually prays for us.
He also confronts us.  He probes these areas of unlikeness.  What happens?

6.  The Idiot Lights on the Dashboard of our Souls
Shame, Guilt, Conviction—
A spiritual early warning system
a call to come out of hiding and
flee to the foot of the cross

7.  Contrasting the New Self with the Old Self
Take a few minutes to write down aspects of the New Self.
Across from each Virtue, write contrasting aspects of your Old Self.
Spend time praying about each one.    Ask for forgiveness and help with each point of unlikeness.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a glimpse of what it will be like to live in the New Self in those areas.  What will you look like when He works out the New Self in you?

NEW SELF—Christ Likeness
OLD SELF—Christ Unlikeness































8.  Philippians 2:12
Is it any wonder that Paul uses the terms “fear and trembling”?

Practice:  Prayers of Intention (con’t.)
Start out with Prayer 1, then spend a minute or two in silence. 
Go on with Prayer 2, affirming your identity in Christ and no other. 
Begin Prayer 3, asking God to show us our hearts and what is going on in them.  We will begin then to see where we are like Christ and perhaps where we are not like Him, and allow Him to move us ever closer to being like him.
Now add Prayer 4--  where we ask the Spirit to let us in on what He is doing in our hearts so we can fully cooperate and participate.

1.  Prayer of Presenting Oneself as a Sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2):  the spiritual discipline of presenting oneself to God as a living sacrifice, open to Him and His will in all things.

Prayer of Intention:  “Lord, I am here, I present myself to you.  Here I am, I open my heart to you.”  [This protects the will from becoming asleep to the will and Person of God.]

2.  Prayer of Recollection (Phil. 3:7-9):  the spiritual discipline of reminding the self of its true identity in Christ (full pardon, full acceptance) and “Christ in me” (that I am not alone).

Prayer of Intention: “God, whatever I do today, I want to do it in you.  I don’t want to do this alone, in my own power or as a way to hide and cover.  I don’t want to find my identity in anything but Christ.  I am in Christ and that is my true identity. (confess any idolatry)
[This protects the life from idolatry, false identities and moralism or making decisions from false guilt, shame in life in the power of the self.]

3.  Prayer of Honesty (Ps. 15:1-2; Ps 139:23-24):  the spiritual discipline whereby we open to God and ourselves in what is truly going on in our heart in order for truth-telling to take place in our relationships and life in general.

Prayer of Intention:  “Lord, what is going on in my heart right now with You, with others, with my life, my situation?  Search me, O God, and know my heart.  Open my heart to you today in truth, lest I deceive myself.”  (Confess any idolatry)
[This protects us from superficial obedience, from presenting ourselves in arrogance, closed-heartedness, dullness of heart, etc.  Let the heart be a mirror to the truth, and open to God.]

4.  Prayer of Discernment (Eccles. 7:13-14):  the spiritual discipline whereby we learn to watch what the Spirit is doing in us and not merely our work, to “consider the work of God”, what His will is in all things versus ours or the devil’s so that we can better cooperate with the Spirit.  Here we seek wisdom on how to respond to His work that is ongoing in us.

Prayer of Intention:  “Lord, what are you doing and what is it that you want me to become and do if I am to do your will?  How can I open to your purpose today?”
[This protects us from responding to false calls of guilt of what to do in our life, to fantasy, to the demonic, to our grandiosity, to working alone.  Here we learn to wait on God and watch His work more than our own.]


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