# The Spirit of the Disciplines **Summary.** *The Spirit of the Disciplines* is a 1988 book by Dallas Willard on spiritual formation and the practice of the spiritual disciplines. It argues that disciplines such as solitude, fasting, and study form character over time rather than earning God's favor. ## Substance Willard, a philosopher and writer, frames the disciplines as means by which a person trains for life with God, drawing on the pattern of Jesus' own practices. The book's concern is how God changes lives through sustained practice, which its subtitle states directly: *Understanding How God Changes Lives*. The book became a standard text in evangelical and broader Christian conversations about formation. It sits alongside the work of Richard J. Foster and the ministry [[Renovaré]], part of a shared late-twentieth-century interest in recovering classic spiritual practices. This page states well-established facts: that the book exists, that Dallas Willard wrote it, and that it was published in 1988 on the theme of spiritual formation and the disciplines. ## Why it matters in this wiki The wiki examines discipleship and formation models. Willard's book represents a practice-centered account of growth that the wiki can weigh against experience-driven or authority-driven models found in charismatic and NAR settings. ## Related - [[Renovaré]]