Spiritual Disciplines: Works of Piety

John Wesley believed that the "means of grace" included both "works of piety" (instituted means of grace) and "works of mercy" (prudential means of grace). Works of piety included:

... prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the Scriptures; (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon;) and receiving the Lord's Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him: And these we believe to be ordained of God, as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to the souls of men.

John Wesley

• considered prayer an essential part of Christian living. He called it, in many of his writings, the most important means of grace.
• read the Bible every day, usually early in the day or late in the evening. A scholar, his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and his sermons are a part of the Doctrinal Standards of The United Methodist Church.
• emphasized the importance of fasting and participating in Christian community. He fasted two days a week, Wednesdays and Fridays, in his younger days, and Fridays when he was older.

For Further Study and Discussion

1. How have you experienced prayer in your own life? Do you agree with Wesley that it is the most important means of grace?

2. John Wesley advised Methodists how to read the Bible Is his approach helpful to you? How do you "search" the scriptures?

3. John Wesley believed that God's grace is conveyed through the Lord's Supper and that it is a major way God nourishes us. Has your experience of Holy Communion been nourishing to your spiritual growth? Do Wesley's arguments help you to see the sacrament in a different perspective?

• "The Means of Grace"
  A sermon by John Wesley on this topic and the "works of piety" and "mercy."
• John Wesley on Searching the Scriptures
  from the Preface to Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament
• John Wesley on Prayer
  An excerpt from his book A Plain Account of Christian Perfection
• "On Scriptural Christianity"
  A key sermon by John Wesley.
• Sermon on the Mount, VII
  A sermon by John Wesley that discusses fasting.
• "The Duty of Constant Communion"
  Why Christians should participate in the Lord's Supper as often as they can.

Next: Mission: The Works of Mercy