Copyright: This article is reprinted on the Lift Up Your Hearts web site http://www.worship.ca/ with the permission of New Covenant (December, 1994) where it first appeared.

Pneuma is a journal on spiritual direction and formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

Our loving Father hasn't given us a road map with super highways marked in red, nor provided us with a flight plan guiding us safely and smoothly to our destination. We may find ourselves bewildered and floundering at times and even lost momentarily on our journey. We need guidance and confirmation. If we flash the distress signal, we find the assistance we need in the person of a spiritual director.

However, a number of questions may come to mind. Do you personally need spiritual direction? Would it help you grow in your relationships with the Lord? Do you feel isolated and alone in striving to live your daily life according to the Lord's will? In brief, are you a likely candidate for spiritual direction?

When such questions and misgivings arise about spiritual direction, I usually respond with a conviction that has been confirmed many times throughout the years."Spiritual direction is sometimes necessary but always useful." "Sometimes necessary" should answer your doubts, while "always useful" may help resolve your uncertainty. Following this procedure will confirm the accuracy of the statement: "Spiritual direction is sometimes necessary but always useful."

Ways a Spiritual Director Can Help

Today the Holy Spirit is enkindling in our hearts a desire for a more intimate relationship with the Lord. We feel a restlessness that causes us to search for ways to improve our union with God. We do not know precisely how to proceed; hence, we are seeking some necessary guidance and direction. A spiritual director can help us sort out the avenues we are to follow.

In an age of transition, many of the former structures, customs, obligations and practices are disappearing. We no longer have access to clear-cut directives that indicate the way we should proceed. In such a quandary, a spiritual director can give us much-needed assistance and enlightenment.

We need to seek genuine authenticity in our lives. We are bombarded daily with slogans, programs, and projects, all calling for our personal patronage. The hurry, speed, and confusion of the modern world leave us without enough time to reveal something about the directee and the working of God in his or her life.

Consider Pauline's story. A major crisis in Pauline's life had heightened her desire to know the Lord better. She wanted to understand more clearly what God was doing in her life and in the life of her family. At the encouragement of a friend, Pauline asked for some spiritual direction. She hoped that it would help her to acquiesce more fully to the Lord's will in her life. Pauline relates her struggle in these few words:

"My spiritual journey is a slow one. I'm trying to find answers where maybe there are none. Before our 21-year-old son, Jeff, died, I seemed not to have many questions about God's ways. Jeff's suffering and death leaves me asking God: Why? Why so young? Why so much suffering?

"My questions are many and puzzling, so I'm sure my journey will be a long one. I want to learn to 'listen' to God. It is easy to ask questions, but much harder to listen. How and when do I really listen?

"Thanks to the help of my spiritual director, I'm becoming more aware of God's presence and his workings in my life. My relationship with the Lord seems to be deepening, and I'm gradually finding more peace and joy in my life."

Are You Ready for It?

A distinction must be made between those who seek spiritual direction and those who are ready for it. You need to ask yourself two key questions: just what are your expectations in seeking a spiritual director, and what precisely do you want to gain from spiritual direction?

How can you know if you're ready for a program of spiritual direction? Here are four criteria for making that decision. If you have the will and desire, plus the time and the means to fulfill these four requirements, you are a candidate for spiritual direction.

Desire. The first necessary disposition is an honest and sincere desire to establish a deeper, more personal relationship with God. We develop our relationship with the Lord by striving to know God with a heart knowledge, by wanting to experience God in our daily living, and by trying to relate and respond to God. If we honestly seek a deeper level of life and a more satisfying fulfillment in God, spiritual direction can be not only a great help but even a necessity at times.

God does not coerce us to listen; God gently invites us. God waits for us to be receptive. When we have a desire to learn, to listen, and to respond to the Lord, we are ready for spiritual direction. This desire is the first requisite.

Consistent prayer. Another requirement for effective spiritual direction is the resolve to spend time regularly, ideally every day, alone in prayer. When we meet God regularly and consistently in prayer, we will begin to experience more and more God's presence and love in our lives. As we make an effort to pray regularly, God will enkindle within us a desire to be in a listening posture. Listening is not easy. Listening is a wordless prayer, the prayer of the heart.To be a good listener we need big ears and a closed mouth. Under the guidance of a spiritual director, we can become more adept at listening.

Journal. A valuable adjunct to spiritual direction is keeping a journal as a record of our prayer and our experiences of God in our lives. The process of writing helps us understand what is happening to us. The permanence of the journal lets us go back and see where we have been in our relationship with God.

Interviews. In order to reap much fruit from spiritual direction, we must be willing to meet on a regular basis with a spiritual director. These regular weekly, biweekly, or monthly interviews will make us accountable to ourselves and to God. How easily we deceive ourselves. We readily rationalize various excuses for not spending time in prayer, such as being too busy, too tired, or too unfocused. We can easily become discouraged if we do not assess any progress in our spiritual growth and development. Without some objective observations on the part of a director, we find it difficult to set realistic goals for ourselves and to choose reasonable means to achieve them. Here, too, the regular interviews will serve our needs.

"Speak Again, Lord, 'Louder'"

At times when the Lord invites us to walk more closely, we hesitate because we may not be certain that it is the Lord calling or because we really do not want to hear what we think God is asking. In that event, it would be well for us to muster up enough courage and generosity to say: "Speak again, Lord, louder." The following testimony provides evidence that the Lord does not give up easily. This person was very reluctant to undertake spiritual direction.

"Here I am down the road one year later. That day was a turning point in my life. I found an amiable director and together we have been moving step by step into a more personal relationship with the Lord. The way is not always level and smooth, its grade is steep at times, and the road is frequently rough and rocky. Nonetheless, I am hanging in there and know that my life is far more peaceful and fulfilled. Life is much smoother and I am a happier person.

"I would say to any doubter: 'It's worth a try. Try it, and I'm certain that you'll like it.'"