Habits of Grace (David Mathis)

Habits of Grace

Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines

Three seemingly unremarkable principles shape and strengthen the Christian life: listening to God’s voice, speaking to him in prayer, and joining together with his people as the church. Though seemingly normal and routine, the everyday habits of grace we cultivate give us access to these God-designed channels through which his love and power flow—including the greatest joy of all: knowing and enjoying Jesus.

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About the Author

David Mathis serves as executive editor at Desiring God, as Pastor at Cities Church, and adjunct professor at Bethlehem College and Seminary. He and his wife, Megan, have three children.

Endorsements

“This book is about grace-empowered habits, and Spirit-empowered disciplines. These are the means God has given for drinking at the fountain of life. They don’t earn the enjoyment, but receive it. They are not payments for pleasure, they are pipelines. All of us leak. We all need inspiration and instruction for how to drink—again and again. Habitually. If you have never read a book on ‘habits of grace’ or ‘spiritual disciplines,’ start with this one. If you are a veteran lover of the river of God, but, for some reason, have recently been wandering aimlessly in the desert, this book will be a good way back.”
— John Piper, Founder, Desiring God, Chancellor, Bethlehem College and Seminary

“Although this little book says what many others say about Bible reading, prayer, and Christian fellowship (with two or three others tacked on), its great strength and beauty is that it nurtures my resolve to read the Bible and it makes me hungry to pray. If the so-called ‘means of grace’ are laid out as nothing more than duties, the hinge of sanctification is obligation. But in this case, the means of grace are rightly perceived as gracious gifts and signs that God is at work in us, which increases our joy as we stand on the cusp of Christian freedom under the glories of King Jesus.”
— D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Cofounder, The Gospel Coalition

Table of Contents

Introduction: Grace Gone Wild

Part 1: Hear His Voice (Word)

Shape Your Life with the Words of Life
Read for Breadth, Study for Depth
Warm Yourself at the Fire of Meditation
Bring the Bible Home to Your Heart
Memorize the Mind of God
Resolve to Be a Lifelong Learner

Part 2: Have His Ear (Prayer)

Enjoy the Gift of Having God’s Ear
Pray in Secret
Pray with Constancy and Company
Sharpen Your Affections with Fasting
Journal as a Pathway to Joy
Take a Break from the Chaos

Part 3: Belong to His Body (Fellowship)

Learn to Fly in the Fellowship
Kindle the Fire in Corporate Worship
Listen for Grace in the Pulpit
Wash in the Waters Again
Grow in Grace at the Table
Embrace the Blessing of Rebuke

Part 4: Coda

The Commission
The Dollar
The Clock

Epilogue: Communing with Christ on a Crazy Day