Spiritual Practices: Cultivating Rest
- Wendy Mann
- Jun 1
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
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This month's introductory content has been produced by Johnny. He is originally from Basel in Switzerland but moved to the UK almost a year ago - He and Jasmin are married. Johnny is a youth leader at the King's Arms Church and is passionate about men really grasping their sonship and being bold and brave when it comes to doing the heart journey with Jesus . Johnny is part of the Rooted team, which is Equip's ministry to 18–35-year-olds.
I want to start by asking you a personal question: How are you cultivating rest in your life at the moment? I’m not asking if you’ve taken a nap today, but whether your soul feels settled – not hurried, not rushing to the next thing, but simply enjoying the present moment with God, yourself, or another person.
Today, I’ll be offering a simple framework for spiritual practices, focusing on cultivating rest as a starting point for this journey. When I say “framework”, I don’t mean a formula to follow or ten steps to becoming a better Christian. Rather, I’m talking about choosing to walk a path that has been passed down by the One who called us to follow Him – Jesus Himself.
The Path of Formation
On this journey of becoming wholehearted disciples of Jesus, I’ve noticed that we are all being formed in one way or another already. Formation is happening in our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not. The question is: What kind of people are we being formed into?
The goal is to become more like Jesus. God has called us to be transformed into the image of the Son – in both character and lifestyle. Jesus Himself is the author of all formation. His life exemplifies how we can live a life that is deeply formed through fellowship with God and others. He gave His disciples practices that function as guides for formation when He said, “when you pray”, “when you fast” – implying that these disciplines were to be practised to become more like Him and to live in union with His Spirit.
Some of Jesus’ regular practices included going to the synagogue on the Sabbath, serving others, and demonstrating what a servant leader looks like. Other practices He had as rhythms in His life were:
Prayer
Scripture
Silence and Solitude
Fasting
Generosity
Community
Sabbath
Service
Witness
The Challenge of Our Culture
The challenge we face is that we live in an age of information overload, instant gratification, and constant digital communication. It seems that the more you know, the faster you work, and the more reach you have – the more people want to connect with you. But in the Kingdom, life is measured differently.
It’s not wrong to have knowledge, achieve goals, or be available, but sometimes those things can distract us from the deeper work God wants to do in us. Information about spiritual practices doesn’t equal transformation.
This transformation – into becoming more like Jesus – takes time, practice, and proximity. It requires committing to a long obedience in the same direction. It can be compared to a pilgrimage, with a set destination, a slow and steady pace, and a willingness to create space to be with God, others, and yourself.
Being with Jesus
If you desire to be more like Jesus, it begins by being with Jesus. That’s the starting point for any formation. Becoming like Jesus – in both our interior life and our outward expression – starts with beholding the author and finisher of our stories and being transformed into His image.
When the disciples walked with Jesus, they didn’t ask how to preach or how to heal – they asked how to pray, because there was something about the way He interacted with the Father that drew them in.
The framework for spiritual formation involves setting aside time and creating margins in your day to cultivate practices that lead to the abundant life Jesus has for us. These practices aren’t just tasks to tick off a list – they are like the rhythm in music, bringing beauty and flow to our overcrowded, hurried lives and allowing us to catch our breath.
It starts with a posture of dependence and surrender – recognising our daily need for Jesus to fill those margins with Himself and His heartbeat, the rhythm that sets our pace in life.
“Lives that have rhythm sing. They don’t survive – they thrive.”– Ann Voskamp
As we commit to these practices, they’ll become habits. Habits are how we’re formed into people who daily become more like Jesus. It means showing up every day as a beginner, establishing rhythms that eventually become a song – and one day, being carried by that song.
Reflect: How are these practices already included in your life? Which ones let you abide in Jesus to form you into His likeness? Are there any He is highlighting in this season for you to explore?
Cultivating Rest and Sabbath as a Starting Point
Since moving to the UK, God has been highlighting the depth and importance of cultivating rest and Sabbath as the foundation of my formation as a son of the Father. Those who know me know I like to get things done – and at times, that’s led to my identity being rooted more in performance than in being rooted and established in God’s love.
The other day, I came home from church and felt a deep need to be with Jesus. I stopped what I was doing, went into the garden, grabbed a chair, and sat in the sun for three hours. My phone was inside, my wife knew where I was – I just sat, listened to the birds, read, breathed, and journaled what I sensed God was saying.
That was Sabbath to me in that moment. In Hebrew, “Sabbath” simply means to stop. I stopped – caught by the rhythm of my Creator – and started my week not in a rush, but in rest.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”– Saint Augustine
While reading the first five books of the Bible recently, I was amazed at how often God commanded His people to observe and practise the Sabbath. He defended that day as holy – and He called His people to be holy to Him.
When something or someone is holy to God, to treat it as common is to desecrate it. No wonder the teachers of the law were in uproar when, in their eyes, Jesus broke the Sabbath. But Jesus never intended the Sabbath to be a religious checkbox. As He said in Mark 2:27-28:
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath is a gift – a space to practise being still and to know that God is God. It is surrendering to His ways and, above all, seeking His face. We can rest because God is at rest. He’s not panicking. He’s not anxious. He is ruling, reigning, and fully at ease. True rest begins in that reality.
Why Rest Matters
God chooses to rest – not because He’s tired – but to delight in the goodness of His creation. Rest in itself is a proclamation of goodness. If we don’t rest, we can’t know that God is good and that God is God.
Rest reveals our dependence on God. We are created as dependent beings – firstly on Him. By resting, we proclaim that God is ultimately in charge of our lives. Living in a hurried world, we often fail to see life through an Edenic lens – to walk with God in the normalities of our everyday lives. We become restless. So, learning to rest is relearning dependence. It’s a spiritual discipline that takes time and a plan.
Jesus modelled this in a moment we would struggle to rest in. In Matthew 8, the disciples were panicking during a violent storm. They looked for Jesus – He was asleep, and I love how Matthew includes that He even had a pillow! His trust in the Father allowed Him to rest in the storm.
How is Your Rest?
Coming back to the original question: How are you cultivating rest in your life?
It’s a question worth asking – because I believe it will shape your relationship with yourself, others, and most importantly, with God. It opens your heart to a new revelation of Jesus’ stunning beauty.
Some reflections on rest:
Rest is resistance - Observing Sabbath is a way of resisting the urge to be God in our own lives and to practice resting in Jesus’ finished work. It reminds us to be still and to fix our eyes on Him. Not surrendering to any other thing in life than Him.
Rest leads to restoration - As we choose to rest, the reality of our lives can come to the surface. In that space we can open up a space for God to sit with us and restore the places in our minds, hearts, souls and bodies to become whole again.
Rest reveals our trust levels - In busy seasons, God has gently invited me to rest – dethroning hustle and enthroning Him. Letting Him provide for all I need.
Practical Ways to Cultivate Rest
Pause often – breathe, be present to God, to yourself, and your surroundings. The more you do this, the more your God-awareness will grow.
Make space for fun!A joyful heart is like medicine. Some of my friends joined a drama club just for fun – create moments of joy.
Discover rest by resourcing yourself – through books, podcasts, conversations – but don’t stop there. Put it into practice for it will require a plan.
A Final Encouragement
I want to encourage you: Book some time this month to practise rest and Sabbath. Take the pressure off yourself. It might feel clunky at first – but don’t judge the process. Embrace it. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you to empower you to live from a place of rest.
And remember this truth: We can rest because God rests.
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Wendy Mann Equip | www.wendymannequip.com
Building Family, Prioritising God's Presence, Extending God’s Kingdom
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