The essence of Christianity is becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. While on earth, Jesus called those who would be his disciples to follow him, learn from him, obey his instructions, and follow his example (e.g., Matt. 4:19; 11:28-30; Luke 6:46-49).
The late Christian thinker Dallas Willard often referred to Christians as Jesus’ apprentices. He offered this helpful definition of a disciple: “[A] disciple, or apprentice, is simply someone who has decided to be with another person, under appropriate conditions, in order to become capable of doing what that person does or to become what that person is.” He went on to add, “I am learning from Jesus how to lead my life, my whole life, my real life.”
One of the ways we follow Jesus’ example is by practicing the same spiritual disciplines he practiced. To cite Willard again: “We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father.”
Although Jesus practiced a number of spiritual disciplines, here we’ll focus on his devotion to Scripture, prayer, and service, and how we can emulate his example.