“It is by being awake to God in us that we can increasingly see God in the world around us.”
~ Henri Nouwen
What is Spiritual Direction?
The process is a spiritual journey into the truth about God, yourself, your relationships, your work and the world. God is the true guide and director, while the human spiritual director is like a coach or a midwife, assisting you in noticing and responding to the inner voice of God and his movement. The director is primarily interested in your experience of God and how you can follow God’s call. The premise of Spiritual Direction is that God is present and active in your daily life in a multitude of (usually unnoticed) ways. When you slow down, begin to reflect, and take a long, loving look at what is happening around you, you become aware of the Presence of God. The more you know yourself the more you know God; and the more you know God, the more you know yourself. Intimacy with God leads naturally into transformation, healing, action, direction and purpose.
A spiritual director focuses their attention on your spiritual experience and points of self-discovery, to explore with you God’s will and purpose in your life. They will try not to analyze or fix you, even though the conversation may involve deep personal sharing and exploration of personal crisis and suffering. Spiritual direction is a conversation of the heart and uses all of our human faculties (intuition, emotion, imagination, senses, and intellect) to discern God’s presence and will for you, as you understand it.
How can I benefit?
Whether you seek a Spiritual Director during a specific season of your life or engage with one as part of your regular spiritual practices, direction is beneficial in many ways. It provides a confidential setting, giving you an opportunity to explore the real issues of your spiritual life with someone who is safe and non-judgmental . The Director is not there to tell you what you should do or be. Rather, they help create a sacred space to facilitate an ongoing conversation between you and God. A Director provides another set of listening ears for the words and the work of God in your life.
Spiritual direction can connect you to:
An increased awareness of God’s presence
Someone to stand in faith for you when you are spiritually exhausted or feeling defeated
Spiritual growth and development
Someone to hold you before God in your struggles without offering quick fixes or simple solutions
An intentional space in your life to hear from God
Someone who reminds you of what is real: God’s love, promises, and presence through all of life’s circumstances, the good and the bad
Greater appreciation of God, others and self
Someone who helps you hear God for yourself and allows you to move at your own pace
Someone who celebrates and notices your growth and courage
Hospitality, silence, undivided attention, space for rest and cleansing
Someone who values and honors the sacred privilege of sitting with others in their struggles or pain
What can I expect in sessions?
Spiritual direction is a series of conversations aimed at helping you listen for the words and work of God in your life. A spiritual director has special training in the art of listening, being able to demonstrate good communication skills with people, and a deep understanding of many of the ways in which God has communicated with people (and people with God) throughout history. This would include knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, of church history, of spirituality, and of psychology.
(Click questions below to view answers)
What happens in a meeting?
Depending on what is comfortable for the directee, a director may begin the meeting with a prayer of invocation, then sit in silence with the directee for some moments until the directee feels ready to break the silence and begin sharing what’s happening for them. Or sometimes the director begins with a simple question with no agenda. Often there is some time for general conversation as both the director and the directee transition into the direction time. As the directee shares, the director will be listening, and from time to time ask questions or make observations about the sharing. The director will pace the meeting, creating space around the sharings that seem to be tapping into the directee’s connection with God. The director will validate and encourage the directee, but will never rebuke, or command the directee. Based on the directees’ sharing, the director may make suggestions about spiritual practices or experiences that the directee may want to explore in the coming month.
What does the directee do?
The directee shares about his or her relationship with God (as much or as little as they feel safe to share). Anything that is in the realm of one’s spiritual life is appropriate to discuss.
How is this different from counseling?
Direction differs from counseling primarily in its focus: the intention in spiritual direction is not to help solve a problem, but rather to look for God's activity within any problems and within the rest of the person's life experience. Usually, counseling is concerned with relationship dynamics and problem solving. Direction also focuses on relational dynamics, but is concerned specifically with relationship with God - who you are in relationship with God; how you communicate with God (both send and receive); what God's call or purpose is for your life, etc. Spiritual direction is not a modality oriented towards solving problems, but about growing in your inner life with God. Yet when we encounter God often problems and pain get resolved. Direction is not meant to replace other helping disciplines such as pastoral or psychological counseling, therapy, mentoring or discipleship. Direction invites you into deeper relationship with God in the midst of whatever you are experiencing. It is designed to compliment rather than compete with these other vital forms of self care. If someone is currently in therapy both the therapist and the director should be made aware. Different forms of care can mutually serve overall wholeness and wellness.
What questions might a Spiritual Director ask?
This time is for and about the directee. The spiritual director is not there to give answers, but will provide a space to explore the questions and issues that are of interest and concern to the directee. Over the course of several months, the director may ask questions about the directees’ on-going experience of God, perhaps exploring such questions as “When have you experienced the most closeness to God recently? When have you felt most disconnected from God and from yourself this past month? What has that looked like? What do you think God is up to in your life right now? Are you sensing God asking or telling you something in this season of your life? How are you responding to what you understand God to be asking?” Keep in mind that transformation comes through questions, not answers.
What suggestions might a Spiritual Director make?
Sometimes a director will suggest specific kinds of prayer such as Lectio Divina (the discipline of meditating on the Word of God until it becomes a word for you and anchors itself in your being…and your actions). Or perhaps highlight a question that the directee may want to hold before God for a season. Suggestions about ways to practice the presence of God, to grow in discernment, and to explore issues of call and vocation may also be made. A director may encourage the directee to practice a specific spiritual practice or discipline (such as journaling, solitude, service or fasting).
How often do you meet?
Typically, once a month. The frequency can be tailored to individual needs and schedules. The time between sessions is where the most growth and movement take place.
Is this a Christian practice?
Spiritual Direction has been part of the Christian Church since the first century, and while having undergone a series of shifts in its focus, has been seen as a necessary component for Christian growth and nurture. Theologian John Cassian who lived in the 4th century provided some of the earliest recorded guidelines on the Christian practice of spiritual direction. Jesus himself modeled direction in the gospels by asking insightful questions aimed at helping people see beneath their circumstances into the real issues of their hearts. And the Spiritual Exercies of the 16th century saint, Ignatius of Loyola, are a popular example of guidelines used for spiritual direction. Currently, direction is enjoying a widespread awakening in the evangelical church as people have become more aware of the benefits of this ancient Biblical discipline.