Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines

There are countless books written on spiritual disciplines, but the quality of those books varies greatly. This is by FAR the best I have read. A few things stand out: \\r\\n\\r\\n(1) Clarity. While most books on spiritual disciplines give a long list of ten, twelve or more individual disciplines, Mathis helpfully does away with these long lists and opts instead for three simple categories: God's Voice (Word), God's Ear (Prayer), and God's People (Fellowship). He then explains how the PRINCIPLE behind each of these categories can be but into practice in many different ways. The result is a book that is focused, clear and uncluttered, and one that leaves us with a clear understanding of the GOAL of spiritual disciplines and HOW we grow through these various practices. \\r\\n\\r\\n(2) Brevity. This book is far shorter than most on spiritual disciplines, and is very well-written. Concise and practical - a perfect introduction to the spiritual disciplines. \\r\\n\\r\\n(3) Faithfulness. So many books out there focus on human experience rather than Scripture, but Habits of Grace is thoroughly grounded in the Bible. It brings out clearly how spiritual disciplines relate to and flow out of the gospel, a feature sorely missing in many others. \\r\\n\\r\\nI could not more highly recommend this book. I got 15 copies for my church and they sold out fast!

This is a book on spiritual discipline. I think there is no better title (and subtitle) to capture the essence of spiritual discipline than this book. \\r\\n\\r\\nThis is by far the best book on spiritual discipline I've read. Instead of giving us mere """"how-to"""", Mathis gives us a new paradigm in doing spiritual discipline. While it is very easy to fall into legalism when doing spiritual discipline, Mathis points out that spiritual discipline is nothing more than """"enjoying Jesus. """"\\r\\n\\r\\nThis book is divided into 3 major sections: hear His voice (Word), have His ear (prayer), and belong to His body (fellowship). Many mini-topics like scripture memorisation and journaling fall neatly in those big topics. \\r\\n\\r\\nOverall, this is a great book for new believers to start enjoying Jesus and for seasoned believers to move away from legalistic spiritual discipline. No other book has inspired me more on this topic. \\r\\n\\r\\nTo close, I think this statement sums up the book well: The ultimate aim of a Christian life hangs on the people of God enjoying the Son of God - through the means He had given us: word, prayer, and fellowship. \\r\\n\\r\\n5 out of 5