Meditation
“Blessed
is the man who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat
of the scornful; but his delight is
in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its
season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever
he does shall prosper.” – Psalms 1:1-3
There are many ways in which you can study
your Bible. Some prefer to read one book
at a time, some prefer to research a topic and go through all verses that
discuss that topic. Some choose to study
using a Christian book or devotional, while others prefer a commentary written by
a master theologian. Some use the ‘5W’
method, asking Who, What, When, Where, and Why about each scripture. All these ways will cause you to gain
knowledge of God’s word, but there is one method of study that is not only
fruitful in attaining knowledge, but in changing the heart and mind. That method is meditation.
Ok, now don’t shut me down here! I’m not talking about yoga meditation, transcendental
meditation, or some eastern religion or occult worship. The point of Biblical meditation is not to
get in touch with yourself, but to get out of touch with yourself and your life
for a while, and in touch with God. Meditation
is in the Bible and we’re encouraged to use it.
Meditation is giving your mind over to something, in this case, God’s
word. God wants your fellowship, quality
time with you. How can you give Him
quality time without meditating, truly thinking about what He has to say?
Psalms 1:1-3 says that if we meditate on
His word we are blessed, and that in whatever we do, we will prosper. Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us that it will bring
health even to our flesh, as it says, “My son, give attention to my words; incline
your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them
in the midst of your heart; for they are
life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.” To “give attention to my
words” is to meditate, to focus on them.
It’s a well-known medical fact that thinking positive thoughts reduces stress. Any doctor will tell you that stress is a
great factor in many health problems.
Yes, God’s word is healing, when you allow your heart and mind to feed
on it.
We are told to in Romans 12:2 to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind”, but reading a
verse of God’s word with the speed and attention we read a road sign is not
going to cut it. We can try to transform
our minds by removing all our evil thoughts and thinking only on the things
that are good. But that can be pretty
hard to do if you expect the world to give you those things to think on. When did you last hear anything pure, good,
true, and lovely on TV or radio or even friends? You may end up with nothing to think about at
all! I have to laugh at this thought, remembering
Job 11:12, which says “For
an empty-headed man will be wise, when a wild donkey’s colt is born a
man”. It’s
just not going to happen! You have to
put good stuff in to get good stuff out!
Philippians 4:8 tells us “whatever
things are true, whatever things
are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
What do you think Paul was describing when he said to meditate on things
that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy? Does anything fit the bill other than the
Word of God?
In 1 Timothy 4:13 Paul revisits this subject and tells young
Timothy “Till I come,
give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you
by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that
your progress may be evident to all.” He tells
Timothy to give his attention over to reading God’s word, to exhortation (speaking
it, giving encouragement and advice), to doctrine. He tells him to give himself ENTIRELY to
them, and his progress will be seen.
Meditation is more than just reading God’s
word. It’s reading it to find a deeper
revelation. To meditate you have to give over your mind, emotions, and body to
the thought. For me, I like to study
early in the morning. Most days that’s at
4:30a.m. At that hour the house is quiet,
my daughter is still sleeping, and my sweet husband is upstairs having his own
time with God. The day hasn’t opened its
cans of worms yet, and my mind is clear. For you, it may be the end of the day,
before bedtime, that’s quietest for you, or even midday. Finding that quiet time to give over your
thoughts, uninterrupted by intruding thoughts and other people, is important. And meditation does take time. Don’t set aside a half hour or hour to do
it. Give God unlimited time. He’ll let you know when He’s done. And please don’t tell Him, the one who gives
you every minute of the day, that you don’t have time for Him. Find the time.
When you have found that quiet time to
offer Him, read a passage from His word.
Then read it again, slowly. Feel the
emotions of the writer. Ask yourself how
this passage fits with the rest of the Bible and what God has spoken through
His Holy Spirit to your heart lately.
His word is living, and will relate to you personally. Are the words used by the author strong
words, or are they soft? Is he using a
lot of verbs, or more adjectives to describe the subject? Is he expressing a command, a blessing, a way
in which we are to react to life, an event, or what? Does the verse remind you of another verse?
Go there, and read that verse too. Dissect
it. Digest it. Move from having His Word
in your head to having it in your heart, to feeling it.
Meditation allows God’s word to affect your
heart. This is what the Psalmist in Psalms 119:9-11 meant as he prays to God
and says that he will take heed according to God’s word, and has sought him
with his whole heart. He says “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I
might not sin against You.” Your heart
controls your actions – not your mind. Changing,
transforming your mind, has to first start with a heart change.
Meditation comes with great rewards. God will reveal the deep truths of His word,
and who He is, His very character and divine nature, as you allow Him quality
time with your mind and your heart. This
is intimacy with God, getting closer to God.
This is His Holy Spirit instructing and teaching your spirit – Spirit to
spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For
the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of
the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the
Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the
things that have been freely given to us by God.”
If we study the Bible, but don’t give His Spirit
opportunity to instruct our spirit, we are the man that looks into the mirror,
sees his face, but then walks away and forgets who he really is. God’s instruction through meditation will
change how you see yourself, and how you love Him. It will change your heart, and then transform
your mind.
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