What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction is a unique spiritual relationship in which one believer walks with another on the path to greater intimacy with God. The goal of Spiritual Direction is to help us grow in our ability to sense God’s presence in our lives and to recognize where he is working in and around us. The "direction" that we receive comes through recognizing God’s voice and responding to what he is saying to us.
A Spiritual Director is a mature believer with who is gifted and trained to walk with others in their spiritual journey. We enter spiritual direction by choosing a spiritual director, after prayerful consideration, to help us discern God’s voice and respond appropriately. The real Director is the Holy Spirit. The human Spiritual Director is a facilitator who helps us to hear his voice.
Who can benefit from Spiritual Direction?
Nearly anyone can benefit from Spiritual Direction, but it is especially helpful for those in certain situations:
- Those who are serious about their Christian life and who want to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ.
- Those who face important decisions or major transitions in their lives and who want to discern how God is speaking into those circumstances.
- People in leadership roles of any kind, where spiritual discernment is vitally important.
What happens in a Spiritual Direction session?
In Spiritual Direction, the director and the directee usually meet once per month. During each session, the directee will reflect and share where they have been with God since the last meeting, while the director focuses on being a discerning listener. The director does not have a prescribed agenda for the meeting and does not push for anything more than what the directee desires to share. The director may make some observations to help to clarify what the directee is hearing from God, suggest some Scripture for the directee to reflect on, or perhaps suggest some spiritual exercise.
A relationship with a spiritual director lasts only as long as the directee desires. In many cases people have found it helpful to continue to meet with their spiritual director for many years.
For more details about Spiritual Direction please see my post What is Spiritual Direction? If you are interested in talking further about Spiritual Direction, please contact me by email or using the Contact page on my website. If you would like to know more about background and training, please see the About page.