Acts 14:24-28

Acts 14:24-28
English Standard Version (ESV)

  So if you want to learn something, how do you approach it?  Some years ago, I started to learn how to play the piano.  Rather than pound away on the keys on my own, I spent time with an expert, someone who could lead me and teach me and show me the way.  The more time I spent with him, the better I got.  I would practice on my own after lessons, but I always needed to return to follow-up.  The deeper I wanted to go, the more I needed to listen, to learn.
  So often, however, when it comes to matters of spirituality we seem to believe that we can do it on our own.  We don't seek out community, we don't seek out tutors, we just stubbornly try and do it all on our own.  A lot of the time we guilt ourselves, convincing ourselves that we 'should' be better at this, as though we come out of the womb with fully formed spiritual lives.
  If you want to learn how to pray, if you want to grow spiritually, ensure you are spending time with people who have a deeper faith maturity than you do.  There is a lot of time where you'll need to practice on your own, but it's vital to be in community with people who have more spiritual discipline, because they can teach you.
  And if you have spiritual maturity, whatever level you feel like you are at, spend time with people who are still growing, who are younger in the faith.  It's vital that we practice our faith together, that we may benefit from the strength of one another, that we might grow together and encourage each other.  It's how the Lord works through us, one by one and all together, to build his Kingdom here on earth.