One way to look at spiritual disciplines is as stairs to climb to get up to heaven. This is the way Luther saw the Christian life in his early days. By his own account he almost killed himself with fasting, praying, vigils, confession, pilgrimage, even literally climbing up a venerated set of stairs in Rome on his hands and knees. It’s possible to come to prayer and Bible reading like this – as a work that gets me credit with God or gets me a bit further up the holiness ladder or ‘gets me into the presence of God’ or somehow tries to bring heaven down or at least makes me feel less guilty for not doing it.
The later Luther saw things very differently. The Scriptures had become to him a gateway to heaven. Prayer had become the cry of a son secure in his Father’s love coming in confidence to the throne of grace. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were wonderful assurances of a sure and finished salvation in Christ. Where before there had been a desperate striving to overcome the displeasure of a frowning God, now it became all about hearing the promises of a God who smiled on him in Christ. Spiritual disciplines in this paradigm are means of grace. The arrow is not pointing up it is pointing down. As we open the Bible or turn to prayer we are simply opening windows in heaven and standing under the waterfall of truth and love and grace.
And here’s something from Peter Mead on that…
fidelnyikuri
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Utumishi Blog 
Thanks Andy for this, I have always looked at spiritual disciplines as a result of our love with God not a means to reach to Him. It is an eye-opener how Luther want to ‘buy’ his access to the presence of God. May we see that we are already at the waterfall. In Christ, we have recieved every spiritual blessing..’Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’. We just need to recieve.