- Defined:
The spiritual practice of meditation is not unique to Christianity. Many religions and secular groups practice meditation. However, when the Bible speaks of meditation, as it often does, it is not the kind of meditation that seeks to disengage, silence, or empty the mind, as in Transcendental or Buddhist forms of meditation. (Dangerous) In Biblical meditation, the goal is attachment to God and attachment to his Word – leading to the transformation of our life – according to and in alignment with God’s Word. The Hebrew word for meditating involves a low murmuring or a low kind of “talking to yourself” as in repeating God’s Word. In the New Testament meditation takes on the form of setting your mind on “things above” (Colossians 3), thinking on Godly things (Philippians 4), giving complete attention to God’s Word, or having the same mind (attitude) as Christ (Philippians 2). The Scriptures teach meditation that engages the mind for the purpose of understanding God and His word. Other bible references are: Psalms 1:2, Psalms 119:15, Psalms 104:34, Psalms 19:14, Genesis 24:63, Psalms 143:5 etc.
Meditation has to do with bringing His word to remembrance, pondering them, mulling them over, reflecting, and dwelling on them.
2. Remembering Implies a Knowledge of its Contents: “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Psalm 63:6). The intent is to replace your mind and thoughts with His mind and thoughts (His will). Over time, God’s Word replaces your natural thinking and you will actually develop a second nature which the Bible terms as a “new creature.”
Remembering requires cognitive recall of what we know about God from His Word. As the soul thirsts for God and His word, it is important to realize that meditation should be in conjunction with reading and studying the Word. You and I do not get to come up with what we think the Bible means. The Bible has one meaning and we either get it or we don’t. We should apply some sound Bible study methods to find its meaning. A word of caution is in order here: Do not equate meditation with Bible reading and study. It is no substitute. Psalms 119:15 says, “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways” (NLT). So biblical meditation involves deep reflection and study of God’s Word. When we read the Bible, read it slowly and intentionally? Think about the significance of the words and how they relate to the context. If your not studying as a way of life, you’ll be meditating on a point that is the figment of your own mind, thinking that the Bible teaches it when it doesn’t. Having a grasp of the word is due to hours of study and reading of the Word. But our point on meditating or remembering is that you can’t meditate on what you have not read or ponder on what you have not heard. Only after this can you meditate on it. We meditate on God’s Word by filling our minds with it day and night. Together, reading or study along with meditation, we come to a deeper meaning and knowledge of God and His will.
And one final thing – you can meditate on any amount of scripture. My only caution is that you not take too small a piece of scripture. Using just a word or two can produce unwarranted results and false conclusions. I would say, at the very least, a sentence or two or one complete thought. You can use a paragraph, a section, a chapter, or an entire book.
According to Psalm 1:2, a blessed, righteous person delights in the Word of the Lord “and meditates on his law day and night.” This meditation is constant (“day and night”) and is focused on God’s Word.
3. Meditation Expands to Speaking
God called Joshua to vigorous and continual meditation: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8). Here, biblical meditation expands from merely thinking to speaking (“on your lips”). Jesus taught, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” You can tell what’s important to people and what means a great deal to them by listening to the topic of their conversation. A grandmother may be so proud of her babies that she shares their pictures to everyone they know and is always talking about them to others. Sport fans do the same. But, if you are enthusiasts for Jesus and His word, guess what? You’ll be thinking about those words and they will be on your lips.
4. Purpose of Meditation
Josh. 1:8 also states the purpose of meditation, that is, obedience to God’s Word, which produces success before God. Meditation requires time and effort. It can’t be rushed. It involves withdrawing from the distractions of this life so that we can fix our thoughts on God and His Word. Our actions are usually second nature and automatic because we create a habit of doing the same thing over and over. There have been times in my life when as soon as I got behind the wheel, I’d turn the radio on. One day it occurred to me that I am bombarded by input all day long. I decided that I need to quit my heart and mind and focus on God through prayer and meditation. To do that, we need to shut out the noise of this world so we can focus our attention on God and understand His ways: “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes” (Psalm 119:99).
5. Finally, biblical meditation seeks to apply God’s Word to our lives.
Psalm 19:14 illustrates this truth: “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Meditating on God’s Word becomes pleasing in God’s sight because it results in the transformation of our lives.
In Philippians 4:8–9, the apostle Paul gives us this beautiful and complete picture of biblical meditation: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
To sum up, meditation is a way of internalizing God’s Word—taking it deep into our hearts—so that God and His Spirit can work through it to guide, teach, purify, and transform us from within. We can listen to the Bible, read it, and memorize Scripture to get it into our minds, but we must not stop there; then we must also ponder it continually in our hearts so that we gain a deeper understanding of it and how it applies to our lives.-up (and you girls can’t do it then either). You have to make a time and a place in order to sit and pray that God would quiet your mind as you prepare to meet him. When you get to that place, then you are ready to begin to meditate on your scripture for the day.
