SPIRITUAL TRAINING

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Striving for the Prize

24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.


I am a fan of Tiger Woods. One thing I have learned about his golf game is the training routine he follows. What you see on TV on the weekend is just the tip of the iceberg. Tiger trains so that he can finish well. Tiger has recently been a little off his game and it seems to surround the finishing holes in a round. After his 9-month injury layoff, he has not yet returned to tip-top form.

The Apostle Paul uses an athletic example to show us the need for spiritual training. We must be as disciplined as the greatest athletes are, in our spiritual lives. Worship … study … prayer … praise … service. Do you have a disciplined routine in all these areas of your spiritual life? Are you training hard so you will gain the prize?

God’s training plan includes Sabbaths … not long layoffs. Long layoffs will leave you short of being at the top of your game.

Train hard and run the race with purpose … don’t be disqualified!