The core of spiritual formation

Sitting in a pizza place in Wandsworth Town on an ordinary Sunday evening was not where I imagined the Holy Spirit breaking in. My friend Karley was in London for a week visiting, and we had packed in so much – a Christian creatives conference, recording five podcast episodes and all the touristy things, as I showed her the city I love.

I was emerging from a hard season of loss, still healing, and we found ourselves talking about the deep work that happens in seasons of suffering. It’s nearly impossible to see how God is shaping us while we’re in the thick of it. Yet as you emerge, you begin to notice the gold dust scattered around the knee marks on the floor – all the prayer, crying out, surrender and healing – his presence somehow closest in our pain.

“I know God is doing a deep work in me,” I said, “and I know in that formation, he’s preparing me for what’s next.” 

Karley looked at me with a gaze I know well. The Holy Spirit was about to speak through her.

“Jamie, of course he’s preparing you for what’s next,” she said. “But the deep work God does in us isn’t necessarily so we can do more for him. Yes, he loves that you serve and use your gifts. But really, he’s forming you because he loves you.”

I immediately sensed God speaking to a deep place within me, reminding me that all my formation flows from his love and his desire to restore me to his original design.

In pursuit of us

It’s so easy to think of formation as God shaping us so we can do more for his kingdom. But that day reframed something for me. 

Christian formation is the Spirit’s work of shaping us through the practices of Jesus – prayer, solitude, silence, scripture, fasting, etc. – forming us into people of love. Yes, it changes what we do, but, at its core, it changes who we are becoming.

The deep work God does in us isn’t necessarily so we can do more for him

As someone who is always looking to do more, I can easily slip into believing God is forming me so I can do more for him. But the truth is: God doesn’t need me. He’s God. He chooses me. 

The core of formation isn’t productivity; it’s wholeness. And that changes everything.

God is relentless in his pursuit of your wholeness. He loves you so much that he wants to form you into Christ’s likeness so you can live fully into your identity as a deeply loved image-bearer. He wants you to flourish. 

Yes, he will use your life to help heaven break into a broken world. Yes, there is work to be done for his kingdom. Yes, he wants you to learn how to love people well. But the most important thing is that he’s after your heart.

I so easily forget this. I often say: “I know God is doing this deep work so I can be a better wife, friend, sister, writer, neighbour, preacher, teacher, leader,_____” Fill in the blank. 

But lately, he’s been whispering something much more tender: he’s doing this work in me so I can know how fully loved I am. So I can see myself the way he does. So I can experience as much fullness as possible in this broken world.

I’ve been wondering: how would it change your formation if you truly believed its core purpose was your flourishing – not doing more, but becoming who you were always designed to be? 

This is the invitation.

A word for the year

Perhaps God wants to speak to you about your own formation this year. One of my favourite practices at the start of each year is praying for a ‘word for the year’, a single word that will ground me. 

Some years it comes early, as the leaves change in November. Other years, not until January, whispered on the edges of the cold wind that slips through the windows of my old Victorian flat. But whenever it arrives, it comes wrapped in mystery.

This year, the word that emerged for me was ‘trust’. God gave me Proverbs 3:5–6. I love The Message version:

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.”

I’m not sure yet how this word will take shape, but I know it will root me in a truth only the Creator can reveal. I’ll spend the year uncovering the mysteries between its letters, the gold within its meaning. 

The core of formation isn’t productivity; it’s wholeness

Somehow this word will breathe life into me – even when that life requires parts of me to die. As I practise the ways of Jesus, I’ll look for how this word appears in prayer and solitude and community and in all the practices of my formation. 

And through it all, I will remember: the formation happening within me through the Holy Spirit is for my flourishing – for me to be whole – because I am deeply loved.

If you haven’t tried this practice before, or haven’t yet asked God for a word for this year, why not do so now? 

Word for the year prayer practice 

Here are some tips for stilling your heart to ask God for a word for 2026.

1. Settle into stillness

Find a quiet place, close your eyes, breathe deeply and be still. Invite the Holy Spirit in.

2. Recall God’s love

Bring to mind a moment or place where you experienced God’s love, and bring yourself there in your imagination. Let your senses be awakened – what do you see, hear and feel? Rest in his love.

3. Welcome Jesus

Imagine Jesus joining you in this space. Invite him to come. When he arrives, notice how he is with you – his presence, posture, how he looks at you. 

4. Ask for a word for 2026

Invite Jesus to give you a word, image, scripture or thought for the year ahead. Receive whatever comes without analysing it. Write it down.

5. Gently return

Slowly come out of the prayer. Reflect briefly and thank God for his presence and guidance.

6. Pray and reflect further

Take the word, image or scripture and pray with it. If it is scripture, use Lectio Divina (an ancient approach: read, reflect, pray and listen). Journal any insights you may receive.

7. Close with gratitude

Take a few deep breaths, thank the Lord and commit to revisiting this word throughout 2026, trusting him to deepen its meaning over time.