“Spiritual formation” has become a popular expression over the last several decades to describe a wide variety of practices within a wide variety of traditions.
Some traditions like Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy boast formation through an elaborate sacramental system. On the other hand, broad evangelicalism is often criticized for being overly individualistic, anti-ecclesiastical, and detached from any historical rootedness.
In addition to these church traditions is the “spiritual but not religious” form of formation that seeks to find the God within to locate the true self.
All of this illustrates not only the desire for spiritual formation, but also the need to find it rooted in God’s Word and expressed within the church’s Reformed tradition. Matthew Bingham’s “A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation” (Crossway, 2025) provides a much-needed and timely resource for the church; it mines the riches of the Protestant tradition to put Christians on the right path toward a vibrant spiritual formation.
Bingham defines “spiritual formation” as that “conscious process by which we seek to heighten and satisfy our Spirit-given thirst for God (Ps. 42:1-2) through divinely appointed means and with a view toward ‘work[ing] out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling’ (Phil. 2:12) and becoming ‘mature in Christ’ (Col. 1:28)” (35).
In the introduction, Bingham persuasively demonstrates that such spiritual formation has existed within the Reformed catholic tradition from the Reformation to the present. Whether one reads individual Reformers, church confessions, or various movements like the Dutch Nadere Reformatie (Further Reformation) or the theology of “Old Princeton,” experiential Reformed theology has always been concerned with the formation of the whole person and not just the mind (6-11).
Yet, with all of these expressions of the Reformed tradition available, Bingham focuses his research on English Puritanism and offers four reasons for doing so: 1) they spoke and wrote primarily in English and so their writings are more accessible; 2) there is a direct between English Puritans and contemporary evangelicals; 3) Puritans devoted much time to the subject of spiritual formation and religious experience; and 4) Puritans rooted everything in Scripture, a pattern much needed in evangelicalism today.
Bingham introduces readers to many Puritans along the way to learn how to apply God’s appointed means to grow into greater conformity to Jesus Christ. He calls the Puritans’ approach to spiritual growth “the Reformed triangle.” This triangle includes Scripture, meditation, and prayer. The theological framework from which he discusses these means are the five solas of the Reformation (chapter 2).
After establishing this framework, Bingham discusses Scripture’s primary role in shaping the Christian’s head, heart, and hands. Drawing on John Flavel’s treatise “Keeping the Heart,” Bingham emphasizes the Christian’s need to meet God where God has promised to meet his people: in his Word (90-91).
Following the Puritan method of the uses and application of truth, Bingham encourages Christians to read the word frequently (112), actively (118), and expectantly (122). When we read the Word by faith, we are communing with God.
Meditation is the second action of the Reformed triangle, and the author rightly demonstrates that this is a lost art in today’s information-saturated world. The Puritan Thomas Manton argues that meditation is the “middle sort of duty between the word and prayer, and hath respect to both” (131).
Bingham works through the literature on mediation to settle on the common and key components of it. It is a “sustained sort of thoughtful reflection” on the things of God (135). Thomas Watson succinctly noted that meditation is “serious thinking upon God” (135). The goal of meditation is, by the Word and prayer, “to transform mere thoughts about God and the things of God into heartfelt, soul-stirring, life-transforming convictions about the same” (136).
Meditation is not the clearing of the mind, but the filling of the mind and heart with the truth of Scripture. True spiritual meditation cannot take place without God’s self-revelation.
And this brings the reader to the third side of the Reformed triangle: prayer. The Reformed experiential tradition has always emphasized the necessity of prayer. Prayer joins “Scripture intake and meditation as that which fundamentally constitutes our communion with God” (165).
Prayer and its importance, even necessity, cannot be overstated. The Dutch theologian and pastor, Wilhelmus à Brakel, said that prayer “is the very essence of religion” (166). Bingham highlights prayer’s vital role in Puritan thought when he points to breathing as a common metaphor for prayer. Proper prayer, argues Bingham, must be thoughtful, heartfelt, and tightly tethered to Scripture (174-190).
These three exercises are God’s appointed means to grow into greater conformity to Christ, and, when exercised properly and together, constitute the believer’s communion with God. They are not performed mechanically, but by grace through faith. In this way, the Christian hears from God, reflects on God, and responds to God. Each exercise of this Reformed triangle is distinct, but they should not be separated (124). The Christian who reads the Word is also one who ought to meditate on the Word and pray.
Bingham rounds out his emphasis on spiritual formation in Part 3 of his book by offering guidance on the proper manner of self-examination, looking at the world around us, and the necessity and blessing of Christian friendships. Each of these activities supports the Reformed triangle and deepens our spiritual formation.
One essential element in spiritual formation that Bingham does not develop but acknowledges as necessary is weekly worship and the importance of the church. His book presupposes this, and the reader should note that the church plays a vital role.
A final section of the book addresses the whole person, body and soul, connecting the spiritual life and the physical. While the challenges and questions raised in this chapter are modern, the Reformed tradition is more than capable to meet these challenges. The final chapter in the book wrestles with spiritual weakness and the reality of spiritual struggles. The Puritans show themselves to be capable physicians of the soul to guide the modern reader through the dark providences and the corruption of the flesh that remains.
“A Heart Aflame for God” is a welcome counter to the accusation that Protestantism does not provide a compelling avenue to spiritual formation. In a day where many are rightly frustrated with shallow or rootless Christianity, Bingham presents a strong case for a rich Reformed tradition. This Protestant option for a biblically rooted communion with God transforms the head and the heart, shaping the whole person into the image of Christ. If you are seeking a guide to deepen your relationship with God and a resource to further your spiritual formation, “A Heart Aflame for God” is the book for you.
Charles Barrett serves as associate pastor of Wayside Presbyterian Church in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.